


New Memories

by soft_images



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Basil and Sunny both got therapy during the years, Basil with ponytail, Childhood Friends, Depression, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Forgiveness, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Hero with beard, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kel is the real hero of this story, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Multi, Post-Canon, Spoilers, Sunny still has trouble forgiving himself, Trauma, no beta we die like snaley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:01:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29510091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_images/pseuds/soft_images
Summary: It's been three years since the confession. Even after the amount of therapy Sunny has gone through, He can't seem to get over all the leftover guilt. Yet he finds himself coming back to Faraway Town. He wouldn't have done it had it not been for Kel's begging. Sure, people are mostly happy to see him, but his group of friends isn't the same as it used to be. It hasn't been for a very long time. He can only hope that everyone moved along with their lives better than he has.Question is, how would Basil take his return? Could they mend their friendship the way Sunny could with the others? And would the group be able to accept Basil as they did Sunny?
Relationships: Aubrey/Kel (OMORI), Aubrey/Kel/Kim (OMORI), Aubrey/Kim (OMORI), Basil/Sunny (OMORI)
Comments: 66
Kudos: 252





	1. If I had a soul, would I recognize? If I looked just like summer, would I realize?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to write this for a long time after finishing this game. It was one of those rare games that has affected me so deeply. And I was inspired to do this with how much fanfiction there is already for this masterpiece. I really want to develop the reconnecting of all the friends. It won't be easy for any of them, but this will be written out of the desire to try to put this group back together. I can only hope it ends well!
> 
> I haven't written for a very long time despite telling myself I should. I'm a huge procrastinator. So I'm incredibly rusty with this. I hope to learn some new things along the way. I also hope that I'm not stepping on the toes of other writers here because I'm crossing waters that have been travelled by other works here. I hope that my take on the events following the game will be meaningful to others. ^-^
> 
> And, if you haven't finished this game yet and plan to do so, please do so! Especially because we will be heading into spoiler territory with this. It is well worth the play. That's a guarantee. 
> 
> So strap yourselves in for all the angst and grief we are going to go through before any of the sweet and fluffy bits come to play.

One thing was clear; Sunny was not thrilled to be back in his hometown.

The tracks squealed as the train slowly came to a halt at it’s station. Sunny’s elbow was still planted in the arm of his seat while he stared distantly out the window. Raindrops beat against the glass as the storm outside began to waver. Not long after the train had fully stopped, a bell rang out.

“We have arrived at our stop at the Faraway Station,” A voice droned over the loudspeaker of the car Sunny sat in. “Please make sure to gather all your luggage before leaving the train.”

The train had quite a number of other passengers. Sunny wasn’t going to start leaving just yet. He stood up to collect a duffel bag and a bulky, hooded coat his mother insisted he bring for fear of the weather. He sat down briefly to let the other people in his car depart first before he got in line. He threw the coat over him and picked his bag back up, being the last one off the train.

Soon he was on a rather empty transit bus he didn’t have to wait long for at the station. There was rumble at the floor of the bus as it drove along the road. Once again Sunny was staring out the window as the vehicle rolled by the suburbs. One of the first houses he saw was his own, or at least it was three years ago.

The house that he grew up in almost all his life. The house that he and his friends hung out and had birthday parties at. The house that he killed Mari in. Sunny was still coming to terms with all of that. He won’t be at peace with it anytime soon, if at all. He dreaded this trip for a while. He dreaded meeting up with people he hasn’t seen in a few years.

He stayed in touch with them after he confessed the truth about his sister’s death. It took a couple of them a longer time to forgive Sunny. Hero didn’t reach out to Sunny for several months before he finally emailed him. Then again, Hero had been wrapped up with the life of a college student. Not that it was any consolation; Hero lost his girlfriend in such a horrible way, and to only learn about the truth years later like he did stung. A lot.

Hero’s brother Kel, on the other hand, was the quickest to forgive. Sunny couldn’t imagine that boy holding a grudge against anyone. And though he couldn’t be the glue holding the group together that Hero was, It pained him to see his group drift apart after the confession. Kel had been begging the past three years for Sunny to visit. If there was anyone he was making this trip for, it was him.

One person knew grudges all too well, and that was Aubrey. When Sunny told everyone the truth about Mari’s death, Aubrey’s anger came out all the stronger. Mari was as much an older sister to Aubrey as she was to Sunny. She looked up to her. Why did he have to kill her? Why did Basil show up to help cover up the crime? She no longer felt abandoned, she felt betrayed. And it didn’t matter if Sunny was still recovering from the fight with Basil because Aubrey decked him anyway, and it took both Hero and Kel to get her off of him in the hospital.

That brings us to Sunny’s best friend and accomplice. Basil had no hard feelings towards him, but after all Sunny put him through? Wouldn’t he just be a reminder of their crime, their shared trauma? And no doubt that the flower boy would feel guilty about gouging out Sunny’s eye. Perhaps that’s what he feared most. He didn’t want to subject Basil to any more guilt.

His friends were one thing. Of course most of them would be happy to know he’s been doing well, or at least as much as he could be. But what about the rest of the town? Did they know? And if they did, how did they think of him?

Sunny let out a long sigh, his breath fogging up the window his cheek was pressed against as his old house faded from view. The houses passed by as the bus took a left turn, heading towards the park. That was his stop.

He tugged the wire to signal the bus driver to stop. He stepped off, unfurled his umbrella and walked down the sidewalk, passing by the park. There was a motel on the other side of the Plaza where Gino’s and the supermarket were. He already decided he was going to rent a room for a couple nights. After all, he didn’t want to impose on Kel’s family, and he didn’t exactly want to show up on Basil’s doorstep, either.

“Yo! Sunny!” Speak of the devil.

Sunny looked over to the direction of the plaza, and there were only three figures outside, seated at a table under a patio umbrella. Two of them were Kel and Aubrey. The third one had their hood up, and with the weather as it was, it was kind of hard to see. Sunny crossed the street and headed over to the trio.

Aubrey gave Sunny an upward nod as he approached, but Kel had the biggest reaction. He ran up to the black haired boy and swung his arms around his waist. “About time you got here!”

“Hey Kel.” Sunny gasped as Kel’s strong arms constricted him. “Uh, a little tight.”

“Yeah, don’t kill him.” Aubrey said, a lollipop hanging out of her mouth. “That’s supposed to be my job. ‘Sup, Sunny.” Next to her was none other than Kim, who had her chair scooted in next to Aubrey, laying her head on her shoulder. She gave Sunny a simple greeting, raising a free hand.

Kel snickered and let go, taking a step back. “How was the trip? Kind of a horrible time of the year to be walking around like this.”

“Well, you insisted.” Sunny chuckled, moving to one of the chairs and taking his seat across from Aubrey and Kim, swinging his duffel under the table. “You don’t have room to talk, you are all sat out here rather than inside.”

“Eh, it’s not that bad.” Aubrey shrugged, pulling the lollipop from her mouth, now reduced to a stick, tossing it towards the garbage can. She missed. “Besides, Kim and I will be on our way soon to the theater.”

Kel chuckled. “Those two are going to see a musical. Talk about a snooze fest.”

“Hey, you’re my boyfriend. You should be coming along. I guess Kim and I will have the popcorn all to ourselves.”

“Yeeeeah no thanks, but you two will have fun, I'm sure.”

“Wait.” Sunny interjected, pointing to both Aubrey and Kel. “You two are a thing now? Who woulda thought?”

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a thorn in my ass.” Aubrey smirked. “Actually, it’s been us three for… a year now? Kim and I have been seeing each other a bit longer though.”

“I’ve been way out of the loop then.” Sunny sighed, twiddling his fingers.

“You sure are!” Kel beamed. Him and his trademark cheesy grin. “Shoulda visited more often, you know.”

“Jeez, you aren’t going to let me forget, are you?”

“Nope!”

Sunny laughed, albeit a bit distantly. It was good to see his friends again, especially under these conditions. He was surprised to see Aubrey be as friendly as she is, and it goes without saying that she can be prickly even at her absolute best.

“So, what is Hero up to right now? Still doing school?”

“Actually...” Kel corrected, taking a sip of his soda. “He’s been home from college for a while. Taking a break. He’s been getting good credits and goes the extra mile for his education.”

Aubrey sighed amid an eyeroll. “College was going to kill that guy if he didn’t take a vacation.”

“That’s what mom kept telling him,” Kel said as he looked up towards the umbrella looming over them. “Takes overachiever to the extreme. But y’know, it’s good he’s able to take a break. Won’t even lose his scholarship.” Kel brushed his damp hair back behind his ear. It was still as long as it was when they were kids. “So, what’s been new with you?”

“New? Well, nothing really. Last year I finally got caught up with school, because you know, I pretty much missed four years of it. So I graduated. All while being in therapy and having a job bussing tables.”

“Job, therapy, school.” Kel parroted back to Sunny. “Bussing tables huh? Didn’t think that would be your thing. You aren’t much of a people person.”

“Eh, it isn’t bad. Most people will complain to the waitresses rather than the kid bringing them water. It keeps me busy during the evening. Staying at home still kind of makes me restless.” Even now, it was hard for Sunny to be at home by himself and would take extra hours to avoid doing so, since his mom usually got off work a little before he did.

“Right right. So, where are you planning to stay?” Kel asked, drumming his fingers along the table.

“Well,” Sunny glanced over to the motel across the street. The gaudy, neon-blue vacancy sign out front was showing its age. “I was headed over there to rent a room.”

“The hell you are!” Kel shouted, standing up suddenly. “Stay with us! My little sis is more grown up now, so you won’t be kept up by her crying. Mom and pops won’t mind you sleeping on the couch if you wanted.”

“Uh, you sure?”

“Dude, of course! Mom still talks about you. Said that next time you came over you were going to have a warm meal this time.” _Oh yeah,_ Sunny thought. The last time he was at their place Hero, Kel and Sunny had to rescue Basil, so dinner that night went cold.

“Besides that...” Aubrey chimed in, standing up with Kim who she was still joined at the hand. “You don’t want to stay at that crummy old place. You’d probably get bedbugs. Well, You two have fun catching up.” She let go of Kim’s hand for a moment as she walked over to Sunny, pulling him up out of his forcefully and hugged him. “Was good seeing you again. We’ll catch up some more.”

“Yeah, you too Aubrey.” Sunny smiled, looking over to Kel who was ambushed by Aubrey with a peck on the lips.

“See you soon, babe. Don’t get in too much trouble.”

Kel grins cheesily again. “That’s more your thing, dear!” They both wave off Aubrey and Kim as they head onto the sidewalk and out of sight. Kel turns back towards Sunny. “Well, want to head over there right away? Get you out of the rain?”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Sunny waited for Kel to dispose of his soda can before they started walking. Looking back, he noticed the Fix-it on the other side of the supermarket was decorated with yellow tape around it with signs of reconstruction.

“What’s the deal with that.” Sunny pointed to the store in disrepair.

“Oh that was thanks to the huge storm. A tree fell right on top of Fix-it a week ago and they didn’t start chopping it up for a couple days after.”

“That’s… kind of poetic.” Sunny sighed, having stopped in his tracks.

“Don’t even get me started on the puns Hero made when we walked past it.” Kel tugged Sunny’s sleeve lightly to get them both back into motion. A few minutes later they were turning a corner at the intersection from the park. That was when they saw someone in a yellow raincoat carrying a bucket of mulch and garden shears. Flaxen hair hung from outside of the hood, flowing erratically in the wind as they walked, eyes forward. They were on the other side of the street.

“Yo, wait.” Kel said as he ran up to the person in the raincoat. “Basil!”

 _No way. Right now?_ Sunny wasn’t sure he was ready for this. He hasn't really talked to Basil since he moved, save for the postcards between them. It was all he could manage at the time, what with the uncertainty of their friendship and his mental health. He was cursing Kel under his breath when he saw him turn his head. It was definitely Basil. And it wasn’t long before those blue eyes wandered over to him as Kel greeted the blonde, their conversation mostly incomprehensible with all of this rain. Near immediately Kel shouted over to Sunny. “Hey, over here!”

Basil was just as anxious as Sunny reuniting like this. Sunny reluctantly walked over to join the two on the opposite sidewalk. “H-hello.” the blonde finally spoke diminutively, giving Sunny an awkward smile. “I uh… I didn’t know you would be coming. Welcome back.”

Sunny matched that very smile with his own, waving largely with his fingers. _Don’t be standoff-ish,_ he thought. _Basil was your best friend. If you can talk to Aubrey after all this time, you can talk to him._ “Hey Basil,” he managed to say aloud.

“Did ya just come back from the garden?” Kel said, glancing towards the bucket.

“Heh, yeah. But you know, it’s so blustery outside, I’m worried that everything will drown in the rain.”

“Dude they are plants. They were made for that sort of thing, right? You know, adapt and survive!” Kel was painfully oblivious sometimes.

“K-Kel, it’s not really that simple,” Basil said, his voice dropping to a squeak as he reached within his hood, scratching the back of his neck. He would give occasional glances to Sunny who could only stare.

_Why are you staring? You are going to scare him off!_

“Uhm, so… Did you start a community garden or something?” Sunny grasped at straws to make conversation.

“Oh not really. I just like helping there. Crops aren’t beautiful like flowers are, but it’s nice to grow more food locally here. Plus there are quite a few people who pitch in.”

Kel snickered, leaning in towards Sunny. “Mostly new age retro hippies and cranky grannies.”

Basil nervously chuckled, rubbing his thumb along the bucket’s handle. “Totally. Well uhm, I better go dry off. I’ll be surprised if I don’t come down with a cold, at this rate.”

“Don’t you want to come with Sunny and I to our house? Hero is there too. Aubrey is off seeing a movie with Kim so it’ll just be us four.” _Kel, I swear to God._

“Uh... Well.” Basil’s eyes darted between Kel and Sunny. “Why don’t you both go on ahead this time? Three is a crowd. I’ll just be in the way. Besides I have to drop off my supplies back home anyhow.” Sunny let out a sigh of relief, which he hoped wasn’t so obvious.

“Okay well, next time!” Kel gave him a reassuring smile, not prodding him any further which was something of a surprise.

Basil smiled back and gave Sunny one last glance, though his eyes remained on him a little longer. “U-uh. Glad you are well Sunny. I’ll see you around.” He waved and he walked down the road. Not long and the coast was clear.

“Dude.” Sunny turned towards Kel and shoved his shoulder lightly. “Why did you have to do that?”

“Sunny, calm your tits. He’s your best friend! Or at least I thought he was. It’s a wonder you aren’t like… you know…”

“What?”

“I find it hard to believe you both aren’t all over each other. Everyone thought Basil was into you way back when.”

Sunny fought a blush appearing on his cheeks, hoping the shadow of his hood and the cool air hid it enough. “I’m gonna stop you right there. Basil and I were just friends. He just happened to be super intimate about it.”

“Yet you never minded him holding your hand and cuddling up to you like he did. Yeah, sounds just like the kind of thing regular ol’ friends do.”

“Kel, you were a little touchy-feely yourself. Want me to remind you of our picnic when we were like twelve? You had your hand on me in that one photo.”

“Excuse me, Sunny! I don’t have control over where my hand ends up when I’m asleep.” Kel realized how that came out, causing his expression to contort.

“If you say so. You sure you don’t want to kiss me while we are at it?”

Kel laughed. All too many guys would have grimaced by such a remark. “Hah, I’m good. The only ones for me are Aubrey and Kim.”

"Suit yourself.” Sunny concluded with a smile, shrugging. Overall, he just wanted to be done with the whole topic of Basil for now. There’s no doubt that they were both close. But that was a long time ago. Back then, Mari was still alive. They weren’t entrenched in undescribable guilt and trauma. They were so caught up with being young. After everything that happened, of course they would become distant.

“You sure Hero will be okay with me coming by?” Sunny finally broke the minutes-long silence between them as they neared closer to Kel’s house.

“Yeah! Hero will be happy to see you. We didn’t exactly get to hang out for very long before you moved.”

Sunny was struck with the realization that he was a shut-in for the four years before he moved away. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

“Nah, don’t mention it. You had a lot on your plate.” _That was putting it lightly_ , Sunny thought as he looked up at the grey, clouded sky. “Can’t say cooping yourself up like that in your house was really healthy to be honest.”

“My therapist would agree with you.” Sunny admitted, just as they reached the front yard of Kel’s house. “People don’t do well with isolation, she says. Paraphrasing.”

“Well, your visit with us should keep you from that.” Kel said cheerfully as he approached the doghouse in the middle of the grass. Hector’s head was only inches outside of the entrance as the rain hit the top of his nose.

“Still kicking huh?” Sunny glanced at the dog, a faint smile on his face as he walked up beside Kel.

“Yeah, he’s an old guy now, so all he does is lay around. He’s really stubborn too. We’ve been trying to get him out of the rain.” Kel scratched vigorously at Hector’s scruff. “Isn’t that right, Hector?”

The white, brown-spotted dog only let out a subdued ‘woof’ in response, resting his chin back on the ground. Kel headed towards the front door, Sunny in tow before he opened up the house.

“Mom? Dad? Hero? I’m home! Brought some company!” Kel led Sunny into the house, and knowing how tidy their house was, Sunny brushed his feet on the doormat in front of the door. Kel’s mom was just around the corner. When she saw Sunny, she nearly dropped a glass in her gloved hands.

“Oh my, what a surprise to see you Sunny! Kel’s been talking an awful lot about you lately. “

“Hey. Sorry about coming here at short notice.” Sunny chuckled nervously. “Kel insisted that I come by.”

“No need to apologize. Make yourself at home! I’ve got to finish up these dishes.” She beamed at Sunny before disappearing through the arch leading into the kitchen. The only other person in the living room was Sally, who was a little older from when Sunny last saw her. She sat in front of the TV with her eyes very much fixated on the screen, but with a short glance at Sunny, waved energetically to him.

“Did I hear that correctly?” A familiar voice shouted at another side of the house, footfalls making their way down a staircase before the source of the voice emerged. It was Hero, no mistake about that. He was starting to look a lot more like his father, a full beard on his face to go with his neatly groomed hair. He smiled eagerly as he saw Sunny right in front of the door. “Welcome back Sunny. Feels like ages since I last saw you.” He neared closer to wrap his arms around Sunny, pulling him in for a vigorous hug.

“It’s definitely been a good minute. How have you been?”

“Well, it’s nice to be back in Faraway from university.” Hero let go of Sunny, allowing him to take off his shoes and coat. “Pretty much just been chilling since coming back.” He looked over to Kel who was hanging up his and Sunny’s coats on the rack nearby. “What took you so long to get back? It’s disgusting out there.”

“Aubrey and Kim wanted to have pizza, so we had that. Then we sat around outside, that was when Sunny showed up. Aubrey and Kim left to go see their movie, so I decided to take Sunny back with me. Couldn’t have been that long! Oh, we ran into Basil.”

It was clear as day that Hero’s joyful expression started to fade as soon as he heard the latter name. “Basil huh? Well anyway, You both are here now. I’ll be helping mom with dinner soon, so just find yourselves a spot.”

“You are welcome to join us, Sunny!” Kel’s mom was known to talk across a room, two rooms if necessary.

Sunny couldn’t appreciate being treated so warmly any more than he was. He came to this town expecting things to be different. Much different. Still, he knew something had bothered Hero when Basil came up. He couldn’t help but think about what happened to the group while he was gone.

* * *

There was a lot of catching up done between Hero, Kel and Sunny. Hero went into much detail about college life and how studies were going. Kel’s part in the conversation had a lot more to do with the people he played ball with at Faraway Park. Now that Kel was out of school himself, he was often playing on the basketball court with Jay and some of the scooter gang Aubrey hung out with. Kel didn’t have quite as big aspirations as Hero.

Eventually supper was served and Kel’s dad came home well before that time. He greeted Sunny warmly before moving into the kitchen to read the news on his laptop as stir fry was being finished. It was quiet for a little while after everyone started to eat, though eventually the need to catch up resurfaced.

“So, how has the big city been treating you?” Kel’s mom broke the ice as she scooped more stir fry into her bowl.

“It was definitely an adjustment. We don’t live very far from here now, but it felt like a totally other place when we moved in.” Sunny smiled as he took a bite of the teriyaki chicken in his dish. He may have kept himself indoors for a good four years of his life, but he still knew table manners as he cleared his mouth before speaking further. “I was pretty behind in school, but with a little extra work I was able to graduate just a year late.”

“Small victories.” Kel’s mom nodded to Sunny, making a wandering glance around the table at everyone still eating. “You should pat yourself on the back. You had a rough go of it all.”

“Yeah, the amount of therapy I had to go through is testament to that.” Sunny let out a sigh as he set his fork down. “I’m still seeing my therapist. Probably will be for a long while. I wasn’t too into it at first-- er, not that many people are. My mom wouldn’t even let me be alone in the house for the first year. Then again, I don’t think I could have stood it. So I got a job at a restaurant towards the end of high school to keep myself busy.”

“That’s good to hear,” Kel’s dad added in the midst of taking a bite. “Props to you for taking initiative with the job.”

“It’s a giant step ahead, Sunny.” Hero smiled warmly at him as he stood up to wash his bowl.

Kel was so busy making faces at Sally and playing around with her at the table, something that his mom never really appreciated, but because guests were over she didn't pay it much mind. He did eventually look at Sunny with a wide open grin. “You keep that up and you’ll do great. I’m sure you will feel like a normal human in no time, if you don’t already.”

All this praise felt strangely... nice? But something about it also felt wrong. Nonetheless, he didn't want to argue against it and cause a scene. Sunny let out a relieved breath as he finished supper. He had no intention to be rude so he had another helping of the stir fry before he went to the sink to clean up. Hero was still there however, having tasked himself with the dishes so he immediately took Sunny’s bowl and set it in the soapy water before turning to him. “Hey, can I borrow you for a moment?”

Sunny was a little shocked by the sudden request but he nodded. “Uh yeah, sure thing.”

Hero nodded, a blank expression on his face as he led Sunny up to the stairway. They went all the way to Kel and Hero’s shared room, Hero shutting the door behind them. Hero had his hands in his pockets, seemingly deciding on his words for what was about to come.

“So, look. I’m seriously glad you are back, and that you are doing well for yourself. Kel seemed happy to have you back in town. Uh, hopefully Aubrey was good to you, too? She isn’t one to let go of things easily.”

“Oh yeah.” Sunny shrugged with one shoulder as he set his back against the door behind him. “I was surprised to see how nice she was about it, but we are cool. Uh, are we cool?” Sunny motioned between him and Hero with his finger.

“I wasn’t happy to hear what you did… that night…That you hid it for years until that day in the hospital.” Sunny’s face soon became ridden with guilt as he hung on Hero’s words. “But I made that clear when I finally wrote to you. After a while, I realized that you didn’t mean to kill her. It had to have been hard for you to lose her. You wouldn’t come out of the house for four years.”

"I know. I isolated myself and avoided everyone. That was hard, but I was being a coward.”

Hero took in a deep breath and, eyes closed, he let it all out like a thick gust of air blowing through the room. “What was cowardly… is what Basil convinced you into doing. Instead of being there with you to tell people the truth, he decided that it would be better to hang her, and cover it as a suicide. I haven’t forgiven him for that.”

Sunny gave Hero a difficult look as he glanced to the ceiling. “Would it have been better if I went directly to the cops and told them I pushed Mari down the stairs? Turned myself in? I feel horrible about it every single day. I was scared." Sunny became choked up, trying hard to not start crying. But he felt the moisture in his eyelids welling up. The mood suppressors he was prescribed some time ago helped curb the more ‘erratic’ emotions, but it didn’t suppress all emotion, as much as he wished it. “After I pushed her, I hoped she was still alive, so I laid her in her bed. But she wasn’t even breathing. I didn’t… neither of us knew what to do.”

Hero scanned Sunny’s face, watching a tear roll down his cheek before resting his hand on Sunny’s shoulder. “You loved Mari. We all did.” Sunny’s bottom lip quivered as Hero continued on. “But what Basil did, it was fucked up. And all it did was make things harder for you.”

“Well,” Sunny sniffled, wiping the back of his hand against his eyes. “Don’t worry. He was keen on avoiding me. I don’t think he wants anything to do with me.”

Hero let out another sigh, shaking his head. “I know you two were close. We all used to be friends, and we were inseparable. I still miss those days, but things change. People change.” He let go of Sunny’s shoulder, his hand falling to his waist. “I don’t think I’ll ever forgive Basil for what he did. Perhaps it’s better that you two don’t reconnect. He put you through way too much.”

He took Sunny in his arms again, grasping the back of his head. “Just let him go. Healing will be much harder for the both of you if you don’t.” He releases Sunny and, without any more words, calmly leaves the room, keeping the door open for Sunny to follow him out.

But Sunny remained in that room for a few minutes longer. He sunk to the floor, staring endlessly into the carpet below. _Maybe he is right. Basil didn’t want to talk to me to begin with anyway_. Not that he could bring himself to talk to him, either. Sunny believed for a long time that he was a horrible friend to everyone in their group, for covering everything up. For retreating from society. For waiting until the last minute to confess what happened, knowing that he would be gone after he got out of the hospital anyway. If Basil was a coward, then so was he. But even with what Basil did, He was trying to help Sunny. And his thanks was having Sunny close the door on not only their friendship, but all that the group shared. Sunny was the reason his group became fragmented like it was.

Deep down, Sunny knew he didn’t deserve his friends. He didn’t deserve Basil, and he certainly didn't deserve to be this fortunate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first I planned for this to be a short and sweet fic of about two or three chapters, but there is a lot to unpack here! Ultimately I decided that reuniting this group of friends shouldn't come this easy. I also felt that Basil would be the target of much of the group's ire, and that won't have a particularly easy resolution either.
> 
> So yeah, probably won't be just two chapters long, or even three for that matter. But I'm alright with that. And I hope anyone reading this will stick around for this bumpy ride.
> 
> (Chapter title taken from Red Sails by China Crisis)


	2. How do I get close to you, even if you don't notice as I admire you on the subway?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basil has to make a trip to the community garden so he can save a flower he dropped at home. He runs into some people along the way How bad could this really get?

“Oh drats…”

This was the third planter this week he has knocked over. Soil was splattered across the floor and a bright pink trio of flowers lay right in the middle of the wreckage. Basil sifted his fingers through his hair, for those were the African violets he had just got to bloom. With Fix-it closed down for reconstruction, they would only be a pain to get a new planter for.

He took a breath in, and let it out. Breath in, breath out. “It’ll be okay. Everything will be okay.” He muttered over and over like a mantra, letting his hands fall from his hair. But now he had a mess to clean up, and he needed to find some way to salvage this mess. Polly wasn’t home either. She wouldn’t be until this evening when she got back from work.

He swept up the soil and found a large coffee cup he could put the flower and soil in temporarily, until he could grab a new planter. _That has to happen today_ , he concluded. Without second thought he grabbed his raincoat, put his hair up in a ponytail, and grabbed a small, empty bucket before heading out of his apartment.

This was where he lived ever since his grandmother died. It was not possible to keep the house she lived in, so Polly found an apartment complex she could move her and Basil into. After all, it would become easier to make payments once Basil can hold a job. They had a room on a lower floor, but had recently started to move upstairs to a vacant room after finding out that side of the complex needed extensive repairs. 

This is when most of the accidents involving Basil’s plants happened. 

Thankfully, Basil didn’t live very far from the community garden near Faraway Park. Just a couple blocks away. He was sure he could get a planter there. Last he checked, there were plenty. It had to do, and he could only hope that the others collaborating with the garden wouldn’t mind if he borrowed one. _It’ll be fine, right?_

Yesterday was surreal. He started the day with his morning shift at the Othermart. When that was done, he got home, grabbed his gardening supplies. The garden was getting slowly expanded between all the episodes of rain and wind, and Basil had to lay down mulch around where apple trees would eventually be planted. Eventually he was finished, and back home he went. This was the routine most days, but following it he ran into Kel, and a face he hadn’t seen in three years.

Sunny was back in town. Basil didn’t think that he would ever return, considering that his hometown held too much tragedy and sadness. It was hard for Basil too, no illusions about that. For one, he didn’t talk with most of the people in their old group. When the truth came out, Kel was the only one who stayed friends with Sunny and Basil. Hero was borderline hostile towards Basil, scoffing at him anytime they passed by each other or greeting him with a glare. Aubrey avoided him.

But it was just how things had to be. He did something horrible, too. He made things worse for Sunny and for himself. Afterwards he tried to live his life as if nothing ever happened, trying to keep a positive outlook. That was even harder, and he knew he was failing at that. It was during that time the thoughts of ending everything crept in bit-by-bit, and then Sunny showed his face after four years. The guilt became like scissors cutting him open.

If it weren’t for Sunny confronting him, as violent as that became, he would have taken his own life.

But now, while things were hard, Basil was getting the help he needed, and did his best to move on and see the bright side of things. That was true even when he ran into Sunny yesterday. It was refreshing to see that he wasn’t as withdrawn as he was before. Sunny was always a bit introverted. It was one of the things Basil liked about him, they had that in common. He was sure he got a little taller too. Sunny didn’t ever have to bend his neck to look at Basil. And he couldn’t deny that he was still as handsome as before. Little other than his height had changed; same black hair, maybe a little neater and shorter. Same eyes, or eye rather. Sunny was still wearing an eyepatch over his right eye. Still he looked the same as the boy he adored, and Basil couldn’t help but prefer it that way.

He got caught up thinking about that on his way to the garden, and he felt his ears heating up amid the cold. _Why are you thinking about that, Basil?_ He giggled to himself, winding up his ponytail around his finger as he arrived at the garden. He hoped to God no one saw him like this.

Too late.

“Well look at you. You look giddy today.” The voice came from beside him. It was Kim, leaning up against a tree near the left-hand corner of the park. She had a phone in hand, glancing to it from time to time as her thumb scrolled through whatever she had on screen.

“Oh golly, y-you scared me for a second, heh. Wh-what are you doing here?”

“Easy nerd. I'm just standing here. It’s a free country, right?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry. I was just startled, that's all.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not here for you. I’m waiting for my idiot brother to show up. So what’s got you so cheery? Did you run into a crush or something?”

“Uh-uhm… well…” Basil fought for words. How does he respond to this? They don’t really exchange words frequently.

“Holy shit. You did. What a coincidence right? I mean yesterday we met up with your friend by Hobbeez. You know who I’m talking about?”

“Er… I… No?” Basil was a stammering wreck. He hadn’t a clue what to say.

“Don’t play dumb. It’s Sunny, huh?” Her foot planted back into the ground as she went up to him, getting in his space. “Look, I don’t really care. I just don’t usually see you like this. About time the flower boy cheered up.”

Basil sighed, mostly relieved. “Uhm, look. I-I kinda have to go. I need a planter for a flower, I b-broke mine at home.” 

“Don’t let me keep you. I have better things to do than grill you.”

“Uh… H-he didn’t happen to say anything about me, did he?” 

“No? I don’t really remember. I was zoning out yesterday, honestly.” She raised an eyebrow at him as she put her phone back in her hoodie pocket. “You could try talking to him. Don’t be such a girl about it.”

“Uh-uhm. Okay.” He glanced between her and the garden before lifting his hand, timidly waving at her. “Well, bye Kim.”

Her only response was a nod as he headed into the garden. He only needed to walk past the greenhouses before he arrived at a shed at the end of the path. It was locked but he was entrusted with a key as he was a regular collaborator here. Once inside, he looked through all the little cupboards and drawers to find what he was looking for. Nothing. Then it was above those cupboards. Nothing still.

He cluelessly looked around ‘til he caught a stack of dull orange-red pots back by a lawnmower and a jerry can. He internally rejoiced as he picked one up. He decided to also shovel a little soil into the bucket he held before heading out. He locked up the shed and he was back on the sidewalk. Kim was still there, but Aubrey had shown up since Basil went to the shed. She was staring him down, causing Basil to gulp.

“Oh, Aubrey…” Basil scratches the back of his head. “H-hey.”

He was still met with a piercing gaze before Aubrey gave him an upward nod. “Stealing planters huh?” 

“Oh I just needed a new planter. There was an accident at home. Kinda made a huge mess.”

“Sure. Whatever. Mind if I walk with you?” The question came as a surprise to him as he clenched the handle of the bucket harder. They haven’t done this in, well, a long time.

“Uhm, yeah, that's totally fine. I’m just going to my apartment. It’s not far.”

“Yeah that’s cool.” Aubrey turned to Kim and planted a kiss on her cheek, briefly putting her arms around her neck. Basil could feel himself blushing again seeing this. “I’ll be back soon. Make sure to give Vance an earful for being late.”

Basil and Aubrey were walking side by side back to his apartment. There was a moment of silence between them. Basil sure didn’t know how to start, and perhaps Aubrey didn’t either. Eventually though, Aubrey stopped in her tracks, and Basil picked up on it, turning to face her.

“Is something wrong?” Basil set down the bucket and planter, motioning towards her.

“Well, yeah? Isn’t that obvious?” Aubrey crossed her arms, frowning. If her anger wasn’t welling up before, it was now. Her emotions were practically foaming over the edge. “I’m just going to ask this right now. Why did you do it? How could you treat Mari like that? She was our friend, and you hung her up like she was nothing to you.”

Basil’s heart was beating outside his chest, his hand trembling beside his waist. “I... I wanted to protect Sunny. I thought… at the time… he couldn’t have intentionally done such a thing.”

“‘Intentionally?’ And that fucking makes it any better?” Aubrey cleared the distance between her and Basil, grabbing the collar of his raincoat. “You know, I tried so hard for Kel’s sake to keep it cool when Sunny and him met up. I still had the urge to beat his ass. But I hugged him. I hugged that stupid bastard! And now, when I look at you, I want to punch you instead.”

Basil’s lip was trembling. He knew he was starting to cry, despite raindrops still coming down on him. “Then why haven’t you?”

Aubrey’s eyes glared right through Basil. She stood there, clutching his jacket before forcefully releasing him. “Because, I’m just so done. I spent years being angry at everyone abandoning me. Hero, Kel, Sunny. You. And I spent more despising you both. How couldn’t I? Mari deserved better than this.”

Basil couldn’t look her directly in the eye. He instead chose the pavement to look at. “I know she did. For years I knew that… there was no way out of what I did. When Sunny hid away from the rest of us, all I thought to do was to keep our secret. Even if it meant taking it to my grave.”

“And how well did that work out?”

Basil looked back up at her. “W-Well, now you all know. And I’m still here. D-despite everything.”

Aubrey was still staring, but with a few blinks she took in a deep breath, letting it all out calmly. “I don’t think I like either of you much right now. I don’t know. I’m pissed off. I’m hurt, but… I miss my friends. I miss how things were. Mari wouldn’t want this. Even after all you and Sunny did, she would want us to move on. And I can’t. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to happen after these past seven years. Because of you two, our whole friendship is shattered. But as much as I think I should just leave you all behind, I can’t.”

Basil clutched his elbow, his eyes still on Aubrey. He was speechless. How could he salvage any of this? He knew he probably couldn’t, but he couldn’t just stay silent like this. “So, what now?”

“Did you have anything to do with Sunny’s return? Was it your idea? Kel’s?”

“I didn’t even know he was coming. I was on my way home from the garden and next thing I know, Kel is running up to me, and behind him is Sunny.”

Aubrey shook her head, groaning. “You must have been happy to see him again.”

Basil could only shrug. “I did a lousy job at keeping up the conversation. Kel was taking Sunny back to his place. Of course, Kel invited me to come, but you know… Hero…”

Aubrey slowly nodded. “I know. He is angry at you too. I’m surprised he even wants anything to do with Sunny.”

“Yeah…” Basil’s eyes dropped back down to the ground.

“Do you remember when I introduced you to them? To Mari and the gang?”

It was obviously a rhetorical question, but he responded all the same. “Y-yeah. I do. You were my only friend at the time.”

“You were such a lonely kid. If you had time between classes or during lunch, you’d visit the flowerbeds at the school. And I was the weirdo talking to the flower boy.”

Basil couldn’t help but smile. It sure took him back. His parents were always so busy and dropped him on his grandma around middle school. He was never good at making friends.

“Hero was like our caretaker back then. He’d break up any fight between Kel and I. He had such a hard time figuring out things to give as gifts for all of us, especially when it came to Sunny. If you even just scraped your knee, he would worry over you like he was your mother. It’s hard to imagine him being like he is now. And I’m supposed to be the resentful one. I guess everything shook us that much.”

Basil sighed, nodding to Aubrey. “You miss us being together like we used to, don’t you?”

Aubrey gave Basil the faintest smile in return. “Even after everything? Yeah. Obviously, I wish things could go back to the way they were. I’m sure everyone does. And now it’s going to be even harder to get us all back together.” Her eyes dropped to the ground, and her smile was starting to fade. "I still think back to the day when I, you know, pushed you into the lake. I felt horrible then. When Kel mentioned to me that Sunny was visiting, we kind of got into it, but he reminded me of that incident then and there."

Aubrey managed to look back up to Basil with dispirited look written on her face. "I know that... I'm not really any better than you and Sunny, because I threw you both into danger. I knew better. I could have killed you both."

Basil’s eyes bore into Aubrey for several moments, contemplating his words carefully. “What Sunny did… it was a horrible accident. It all happened so fast. They were arguing over the recital and the next thing you know, Mari was falling down the stairs. Had it just been that, it would have still been hard for all of us, but maybe our friendship would have still been intact. I made things worse. I just…” He clenched his fists, nearly gouging holes in his palms. “I wanted to protect Sunny.”

“Yeah. This is like the millionth time you said that.” Aubrey couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “What are you trying to say, Basil?”

“I… Everyone should be angry with me, not Sunny.”

Aubrey groaned again, putting her hands on Basil’s shoulders, looking at him intently with her expression relaxed. “You can’t decide who everyone will be mad at. The only thing you can do is acknowledge what you’ve done, and accept the consequences.”

Basil nodded, his eyes still on her. “I know.”

“Luckily for you, there are people who still want you and Sunny to move on and live your lives. Kel wants you both to be happy. I don’t know if you noticed, but he was bummed that you didn’t go hang out with them.”

“H-he was?”

Aubrey snorted, a smile forming on her face. “Yeah. If only you weren’t such an idiot and told him that Hero was still mad at you, he would have changed course.”

“I guess.” Basil grinned sheepishly.

“And maybe it wouldn’t hurt for you to talk to Sunny again, but that’s up to you.” Aubrey pulled Basil closer, her hands pressed to each of his shoulders as they embraced. “Just for the record, I’m still angry with you.”

Basil reciprocated. “You have the right to be.”

“Damn right I do. But… I’m over wanting to punch you both. Besides, you two put each other in the hospital. Who knew you had it in you?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at that. It felt wrong. What happened that night, the night before Sunny was supposed to leave, he knew he was trying to help him come to his senses. Basil knew that if Sunny didn’t enter the room, he would have thrown away his life. He didn’t want to do that to him, especially when he pleaded for Sunny to not leave.

“Okay.” Aubrey let go of Basil and stepped back, pivoting the other way, looking towards the park. “I’m headed back to Kim. Just think about what I said.”

“I-I will. Thanks Aubrey.” He gave her a long warm smile as he waved her off, as she turned her back to return to Kim and Vance. He stood still for a few moments longer before picking his bucket and planter back up. He headed back home so he could get his flowers back into a proper pot. He could only hope that they aren’t ruined by now.

* * *

That evening, Polly had come home after a long day at the clinic. She was lounging on the couch, watching some movie from two decades ago. Basil sat next to her, half-watching with her and half-spacing off. They used to have such a quiet relationship when she was taking care of him and his grandmother. Basil kind of avoided Polly for the most part when she was hired by Basil’s parents to be their caretaker. Not that she did anything wrong really. At that point in time, he didn’t know if he wanted anyone knowing about him.

But here they were living together. He opened up way more to her in the last few years, having even told her about Sunny and Mari. Surely this worried Polly at first, but she accepted Basil all the same. It was all the more reason for her to help him, even if he needed her help less over time as he became more independent.

She stretched her legs out across the couch, accidentally bumping into Basil who sat at the other end. “Hey,” She spoke up finally. “Could I bother you into making us some tea?”

Basil nodded, smiling to her without a word as he got up. He turned on the light in the kitchen as he rummaged for the tea kettle and two different flavors of tea. He knew what she liked and she was very particular about what kind she would drink at different times. Lemon ginger was the relaxation tea, so he picked that out as well as a bag of Earl Grey for himself. 

It would take a while of course for the water to boil, so he checked up on his flowers once more today. He poked lightly at the soil to test it’s dryness among all the flowers he had sitting on the rack. He also checked up on the African violets he dropped earlier today. They still looked to be in good shape, but it would definitely be several hours before he could tell for sure. At this point it was too dark for the flowers to get any sun so he decided to close the shades.

In time the tea kettle started to whine, and he heard the small rumble of boiling water in the kettle. He prepared the cups and started to pour each of them with the hot liquid.

That was when there was a knock at the door.

The noise startled him, but just as he was about to head to the living room, Polly was already up. The door was just cracked when she answered. 

“Oh, Sunny! You’re in town again.”

_Sunny is here? How did he even--_

“Basil! He’s here for you.” She left the doorway, opening up for him slightly for Basil to slowly move towards the door, setting down Polly’s tea on the way as he approached.

“H-hey! What are you doing here?” Half of Basil’s body was leaning against the door as he peered at Sunny. “How did you find where I lived?”

Sunny chuckled, looking out onto the street from the stairwell. “Don’t worry, Kel told me where you lived. Are you busy right now?”

“Uh-uhm… Not really.” Basil fidgeted. “Do you… do you want to come in?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you would be up to grab a bite over at Gino’s. That is, if you wanted to?”

“Y-yeah! Sure. That would be great,” Basil said, suddenly chipper as he left the doorway into the apartment. “Mind sitting down for a while? I gotta change.” Basil was, after all, in his sleepwear consisting of a green long-sleeve shirt and striped pajama bottoms. Getting dressed for him couldn’t take long though. He led Sunny in as far as the living room before heading in his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

He didn’t get dressed immediately though. He pressed his back against the door, staring up at the ceiling. _Sunny just asked to take me out for food! Okay, calm down. It’s probably just to catch up. You kind of shrunk away yesterday after all, instead of talking like a normal human being. Surely Sunny doesn’t have any ulterior motive?_ Basil knew it’s been a long time since they properly spent time around each other. Still, Sunny asked him if he’d go eat somewhere. _That was something people did when they liked someone, right?_ Basil couldn’t help but be a little cheery about the prospect. 

Not able to stop himself from smiling, he dropped his pants around his ankles, kicked them off and began looking for something decent to wear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, it took me a little while to figure out how this was going to go. Anyone wonder how Aubrey was able to hold things in so well only to blow up at Basil? You think that maybe she blames him more than she does Sunny? 
> 
> And what a weird turn of events for Sunny to show up at Basil's door. Once again, Kel is probably at it with playing matchmaker for the two. I mean, someone has to do it, right? Basil and Sunny would spend forever figuring out whether or not they should make the first move.
> 
> (Chapter title is taken from Adult Diversion by Alvvays)


	3. You go there, you're gone forever. I go there, I lose my way. If we stay here, we are not together.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunny drifts off to sleep the night of his arrival, and finds himself in an all too familiar setting. It is here he meets with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING!: This chapter will contain references to self-harm. If this is something triggering to you, you can safely skip this chapter and not worry about missing anything. Always put yourself and your wellness first. <3

He felt himself falling. This was a sensation he hasn’t felt for a long time. Last he knew, he was going to sleep on the couch in Kel’s house. He looked around and everywhere it was just a void of darkness.

This couldn’t be Black Space, could it? What else could it be? He thought that this place would have faded when he stopped repressing details of his life. That’s all Black Space had purpose for. To hide things in. The things he couldn’t confront.

Yet, in this inky blackness, he could see himself clear as day. His form had color. He definitely wasn’t Omori. Omori faded away and became a part of Sunny. Albeit, a small part, but it was a part of him that once had the desire to protect him from facing the truth. Once that desire faded, so did much of Headspace. All that remains is a fantastic memory.

Finally, he felt himself stop falling. There was a surface beneath him. Not much of a tangible surface. He still couldn’t see anything. He felt faint rumbles in the ground here. A sound. Something was moving. It took him adjusting his eyes to see through the darkness. It wasn’t clear. Whatever it was, it was enormous.

He got up and decided to walk forward. Slowly. Carefully. It took him some time before the rumbles became more intense. Even now, he couldn’t comprehend whatever was beyond. But he would soon bump into something, knocking him off of his feet.

Whatever it was, he saw something in a split second before being hoisted up, something akin to a thick wire coiling around him as he was lifted. He could only struggle, trying to pull himself out of the tendril that held onto him firmly.

“Dreamer…” A hushed, wispy voice spoke to him. He hesitated to look down, but finally he saw it. Two eyes, staring right through him. “You… return… to Abyss.”

This thing -- No, it wasn’t just a thing. He knew that voice from somewhere. It was a vague image in his mind, but a lot of things spoke to him through the cracks in Headspace. But this wasn’t like those voices. It was more familiar.

“A-Abbi?”

The tendril tightened around him, constricting him for a brief moment. The sensation felt so real to him, though he was sure he’s dreaming. “Spoke… Name… Not heard… Such a long time.” He was eventually lowered, close to the gargantuan figure’s face, and he was let go.

“Abbi, What are you doing down here?”

He felt a breeze rush past him as a sound akin to wind moved around him, “I… left in Black Space… I am used to know… truth... Forgotten…”

Sunny gulped, a realization coming to him like a ton of bricks. She was locked down here this whole time? That’s why he couldn’t sense her anymore in his mind. It was then he remembered that his childhood imaginary friend, who was there even before the accident with Mari, was trying to help him.

“Did… Omori do this to you?”

The voice came again from the darkness. It sounded pained as another gust of air blew through. “I… Last remember… Saw Dreamer… no more…”

Sunny felt a tinge of remorse within himself. He knew he buried a lot in order to not confront the scary reality of his past. But to think that Abbi survived, despite all of Headspace crumbling. And though he knew she wasn’t real, none of this was real, this is a cruel fate.

He came closer and gently wrapped his arms whatever was available. At the corner of his vision he saw one of her eyes gaze at him. It was admittedly disturbing, but it didn’t matter. “I’m sorry Abbi. I’m so sorry. I let him throw you down here. You were just trying to help me. You didn’t deserve this.”

The air around him was silent. She was silent. It was several moments before the tendrils around him shifted. Soon, they were encircling him once more. They didn’t constrict him though. It was gentle. “Thank you… Dreamer…”

He became lost in this feeling. There was an odd warmth coming from Abbi. It was then he realized that the tendrils themselves began to shrink, some completely fading. It was moments later when there was a hand over his shoulder, and someone’s head against his chest. Suddenly, a spotlight was pointed at him from an indiscernible point above. 

He looked down, and he saw a much smaller figure with him. It was refreshing to see her in a much more familiar state. She had bob-cut hair, her bangs half covering her eyes which had faint spirals through the irises. From her head were two tentacles, writhing just like the one that took the place of her right arm. She was barely dressed, her translucent figure only wearing a t-shirt and underwear.

“I never thought I’d see you again, Sunny.” Her voice was gentle and frail, but instead of a whisper, there was actual resonance and tone when she spoke. Abbi clung tighter to him, sighing with relief. She was free.

“I’m glad I found you here, Abbi.” Sunny smiled, still not letting go of Abbi. He didn’t care if this was a dream. Not right now.

“What I want to know is, what are you doing here in the first place?” Sunny could hear a giggle in his ear before she lifted herself away from him.

“I, well, It’s not really like I can control where I go when I’m asleep.”

“Okay, that’s fair.” She released Sunny finally, and her eyes were fixated on something. Sunny looked to where she had set her gaze. Floating images like shattered glass floated gently around them. They were distant, but Sunny could see them clearly. They were memories. Memories of his adventures in Headspace, albeit as Omori. There were memories of things that happened in the past. The good and the bad, but mostly good. Then there were more recent memories. All of them from sunny’s point of view. Abbi stared intently at those that happened recently. Sunny meeting with his friends, running into Basil, crying on Kel’s bedroom floor.

“I missed out on so much of your life. But I am glad you reconnected with your friends.”

“Yeah.” Sunny brought his knees to his chin, wrapping his arms around his legs. “Honestly, it’s strange. They should all hate me.”

“Why would they?” Abbi seemed puzzled. Indeed, she wasn’t good at real-world logic. It was a whole other reality from hers.

“Well you know, Mari for starters. And not confessing in so long. And Basil, I don’t think he wants to be around me right now. We barely talked after I left.”

Abbi hummed, laying herself along the blackened floor. “That doesn’t sound like the Basil I know. At least from where I was standing.”

“Well, as Hero says, people change.”

She shrugged, still sprawled out on the floor as she lifted one tentacled leg over the other. “Sure? But I don’t think people change how they feel about those they cared about so easily, so quickly. Basil seemed… very smitten with you.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“I dunno, ‘cause it is plain as day?” Another memory flew past. It was of Sunny and Basil, hand-in-hand. They weren’t always alone like this, but it was the rare moment Basil was at his house, and Basil was venting about something. Probably his virtually non-existent parents. “I’m not really an expert on your friends, or people for that matter, but most people who are merely friends don’t do that with others. You know it. I know it. Besides, you adore him. You always have. It would be a shame, you know? Leaving without confessing your feelings.”

He hated that Abbi was literally in his head, particularly now. “And what if I scare him off?”

“Then maybe people change. Beats me. Would it kill you if you tried being there with him? It’s as Kel said, you two were best friends.”

Abbi sat up again and took hold of Sunny’s hands, lying them atop her lap. But something caught her attention. Scars marked Sunny’s arms. Thick, uniform scars from burns. All lined up perfectly. It was then another memory brushed past them. The day Sunny first started burning himself. It was a year after leaving Faraway, around the time Hero reached back out to Sunny. Sunny felt that after he spent so long repressing his memories and running away, he needed to punish himself, and if not that it was to feel something. Anything. Even now he had moments of near complete numbness.

“You should treat yourself better, you know?” Abbi gently rubbed Sunny’s arms, pulling him closer so their foreheads touched. “I mean, what would they all think if they saw this?”

“They’d probably be disgusted with me. Ashamed.” Sunny let out a scoff, looking down and away from Abbi.

Abbi hummed again, tracing imaginary circles in Sunny’s hands with her thumb. “Or, they would be concerned. They would tell you to find someone to help you. You should trust in your friends more. If after everything they still want to talk to you, you have to believe they will stick with you through thick and thin.”

Sunny let out a long sigh, looking up at Abbi once more.

"You... don't have a lot of time here, Sunny. Try to remember all I've said, okay?"

He nodded. This really was goodbye for them.

“And,” Abbi continued as she hoisted him up, still holding onto his hands. She leaned in close to him once more, pecking him lightly, her lips against his. “Maybe try not to stumble in here in the future, okay? People your age tend to not still have imaginary friends.” She gave him a warm, reassuring smile.

“I guess I’ll try. Are you going to be alright here?”

“Pfft, I’ll be okay, I’m sure. I have free reign of this place now. Maybe I can go on my own adventures in your Headspace. Might be fun, right? I’ll be here cheering you on.”

Sunny smiled, albeit it was a sad, forlorn smile. He knew she was right about everything, and he knew he had to let her go. Abbi let go of his hands, giggling again before walking off into the darkness, moving towards one of the floating memories in the distance. This left Sunny to stand completely still and shut his eyes, ready to go back to the real world.

When he woke up, it was to the sound of the coffee machine gurgling and roaring in the kitchen as he rolled around on the floor of Kel’s bedroom. He had a sleeping bag underneath him, one of Kel’s pillows, and his own blanket as he finally lifted his head, rubbing his eyes groggily.

“What the hell…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, this is a scene I wanted to write for so long. I wanted to do it without being so hokey with it, but I gave up on that. Ultimately I think I needed there to be a voice for Sunny to help move him in a positive direction.
> 
> It might seem strange that Abbi made an appearance here, especially because you would only ever run into her in the Hikikomori route. But see, I imagined Sunny's adventures as Omori to be a part of his memories, especially since a lot of the events in headspace were parallel to real experiences he had. Because he had decided to face his past, there would not be much left of the White Space or Black Space for that matter, because all the bad things were no longer repressed. All that would be left of this entire world of his would be memories and the things he left behind down in the Abyss.
> 
> Besides, while Abbi was one of the more eerie parts of the Hikikomori route (Definitely not like the rest of what Black Space was, that was something else), I just found everything about her to be a bit sad. I enjoyed her boss fight and I couldn't fathom killing her and taking her eye. Besides, her gifts are objectively way better. Because you never get to meet her in the Normal route, I felt that she would just be abandoned and left to rot in Sunny's subconscious. Real or not, that is a horrible fate. I felt she deserved better. Tbh, I'd hug Abbi too. Even if she was in her scary form.
> 
> I just wish there was more done with Abbi's character. Though I guess that would take away some of that flattering mysteriousness from her too.
> 
> (Chapter title is taken from Anywhere Is by Enya)


	4. Even though we're far apart we've come so close and it feels so right.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunny finally works up the courage to ask Basil out. Unfortunately, Faraway didn't give him much to think creatively with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sexual content ahead. You have been warned. <3

This was the second day back in Faraway as Sunny started to climb out of bed. He was always something of a late riser, so Kel and Hero were already out of their beds. Perhaps it was that strange dream with Abbi that kept him in slumber for longer than usual. A distant sizzle and the sound of metal scraping against metal from down below could be heard all the way up in the bedroom. 

Sunny yawned, looking around for his duffel bag so he could find a fresh change of clothes for the day. What he settled on was a pair of gray jeans and a black, long sleeve shirt with thin, white horizontal stripes. He stripped down, the only fabric of clothing on him being a pair of boxers which soon came off as well. All too soon he heard the sound of someone marching up the steps, their feet stomping along the stairwell.

“Yo, Sunny! Are you up ye--” Kel swung open the door and was greeted with a view of Sunny’s buttocks just as he started to slip on a new pair of briefs. “Awww man! Sorry, I thought you would be asleep, honestly.” He turned away slightly, enough so he wasn’t directly facing the other man in the room changing.

Sunny’s face felt a little hot but he reassured himself that it was just Kel. Guys normally strip down together all the time in school locker rooms, this totally wasn’t any weirder than that. “Eh it’s okay. What’s up?” He finally had his underwear on and was in the process of throwing his shirt over his shoulders.

“Mom’s making breakfast! Hope you still like eggs, bacon and hash browns.”

“Oh, sure! I’ll be down in a moment.” Sunny lowered himself to the floor to put on his jeans, sliding each leg over his.

“Bet! See you down there soon.” Kel left him to get changed, courteously shutting the door behind him as he hopped down the stairs. Sunny took the opportunity to head to the mirror and brush his hair, as he had a serious case of bedhead. 

Out of a tinge of curiosity, he brushed his hand across the white eyepatch he wore. He almost never took it off, except when he was in the shower or visiting his doctor. He was a little self conscious about his right eye after all, even if people did think the eyepatch was cool. He decided to lift the patch up to his forehead.

There was a slight pink recess in his skin going from above the brow to the underside of his bottom eyelid. His eye was completely shut on that side. His nerves were shot in that area, so it wasn’t like he could open the right eyelid anymore. Not that there was anything left to see there, anyway. 

It took him back to that night at Basil’s house. Everything from the unlocking of his memories to the sleepover, all leading up to the encounter with his best friend. Guilt consumed both of them, and it was that guilt that pushed them apart. Basil was so convinced that there was something that made Sunny push Mari down the stairs, to isolate himself from the world, to not make contact with his friends for four years. Four long years that Sunny avoided everyone, including the person that would need him the most. He felt rotten for all of it. He couldn’t really blame Basil for what he saw that night. At that point, they were both in such a state of psychosis, trying to separate reality from their delusions then would be a futile effort.

In truth, he cared so much for Basil, even if he didn’t show it for such a long time. Had it not been for Sunny going into his room that night, what would have Basil done? Sunny couldn’t even begin to think about it. Knowing that made the ordeal worth it. So what if he lost an eye? He would do it all over again if he had to. Basil was too precious to Sunny, and he kept himself away from Basil all too long.

He slid back down the eyepatch and finished brushing his hair, finally going downstairs to join Kel’s family.

* * *

Sometime after breakfast was finished, Hero left for work and it was just Kel and Sunny at that point hanging out back at the bedroom. They had found an old video game they used to play as kids years back and plugged in the console it went to. They both spent a good half an hour fighting each other with their chosen characters. That was when Sunny finally spoke up.

“So… I might go see Basil later.”

Kel paused the game and looked at him, wide-eyed. “Wait, for real? What’s gotten into you now?”

“Eh… I had a wake up call of sorts. It came to me in a dream.” He realized the irony in that.

Kel raised his eyebrow, setting his controller on the floor in front of him. “You’re being weirder than usual Sunny. What are you two gonna do?”

“Uh…” Sunny scratched the back of his head, eyes averting to the ceiling. “I haven’t thought that far yet. Maybe you could come with, help us figure it out?”

“That sounds great and all, Sunny.” Kel chuckled, unpausing the game so they both could resume their fight. A fight that he was clearly winning. How he still remembered how to use all the moves his character can make was anyone’s guess. “The thing is, I’m going to Aubrey’s house with Kim and help clean up the place. You know how her mom is.”

Sunny groaned. “Some friend you are. Still, it’s a wonder she was able to keep Aubrey all that time.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty messed up, but we will be finding ourselves a place after I get hired!” Kel smiled confidently at Sunny.

“Oh yeah, and when will that be?”

“Dude, I got this! Might surprise you but I can be ambitious when I set my mind to it.”

“Whatever you say, Kel.” Sunny smirked, his eyes focusing back on the screen to the game. It wouldn’t be long before he got bored. He could only lose so much. “So I’m really going to be on my own with this one, huh?”

“Relax! Basil will be happy to be around you, no matter what you do. Why don’t you take him to Gino’s?”

“Yeah uh, I don’t know how down he would be with that. He has kind of a weak stomach, remember?”

“Well, there aren’t a whole lot of places you can eat here. Just get him a sandwich or something! Or order a pizza that isn't too meaty. It’ll be fine!”

Sunny gave in, pursing his lips. There really wasn’t a whole lot they could do in town as is, though he supposed that it really didn’t matter where they went. If only he could take Basil to the botanical gardens back in his city. _He would love that_ , He thought.

“You won’t tell Hero I’m going to see him, will you?”

“Why does that matter? Hero isn’t your dad, Sunny.”

“Try telling that to him. He was always the older one in our group, after all.”

“And what is he going to do, Sunny? Ground you?”

Sunny mashed buttons in hopes he would get just one win in the game. “You know how he feels about everything that happened with Mari, and how Basil was involved. He was never able to get over that.” Sunny lost again, so he slid the controller across the floor towards the console. “Come on Kel, help me out on this one.”

“Okay, okay! I won’t tell him. But you know, you shouldn’t have to hide your friendship with Basil from everyone.”

Sunny looked back up to the ceiling, letting his head hit the end of Hero’s bed. “Yeah, I know.”

* * *

Basil and Sunny walked down to Gino’s just after sundown, which at this time of the year came quite early. It wasn’t too far a walk, and they exchanged a few words before arriving. Questions of how Sunny was settling into the new city and what Basil had been up to recently. After all, they didn’t catch up properly yesterday, but today they would more than make up for it.

Soon they arrived, sat down, and had their pizza ordered. Sunny knew that the poor boy wouldn’t be able to handle so much meat and dairy, so he just settled on a large one of Basil’s choosing. Sunny could hardly think of pizza toppings he didn’t like, he was more than happy to have whatever the other boy chose.

“S-so…” Basil started timidly, folding his hands over the table. “You said you had a job a bit ago at a restaurant. That’s been, um, going well right?”

“For the most part.” Sunny had just been taking a sip of his water, but once the cup was lowered he smiled at Basil. “I don’t know if it’s something I’ll keep doing, but it’s not bad. I just needed something to get me out of the house while my mom is at work herself.”

“Heh.” Basil’s finger glided along the rim of his own glass. “It’s good you aren’t cooping yourself up anymore like you did.”

“Tell me about it. I don’t do well with being home alone anymore. Not right now anyways.”

“H-has um… therapy helped you with tha-- oh!” Basil facepalms, chuckling nervously as he looks back up to Sunny. “I’m sorry, I just assumed…”

Sunny reached out and set his hand atop Basil’s arm, catching the blonde’s attention. “Hey hey, it’s okay. I have been in therapy, actually. Uh… My therapist has been helping me work through my anxieties at home, but it’s coming along poorly so far. They said it could be awhile before I can be comfortable at home again.”

Basil let his other hand fall back on the table and let out a breath of relief. “Ah, well, I’m glad there’s been some progress. I mean, you're here, right? I was worried you wouldn’t ever set foot in town again.”

Sunny couldn’t stop himself from smiling widely, cocking his head. “Aww, you worried about me not coming back?”

Basil was put on the spot. He turned his face away to hide a blush in futility. “I u-um. I didn’t mean it like that. I swear!”

Sunny only continued to smile, eyes completely set on Basil. “So, what about you? Have you seen anyone?”

Basil nodded, his hands returning to the glass in front of him. “Y-yeah. It took me a bit to come around to that idea. At first I kinda… pretended our stay at the hospital didn’t happen, that I could just get over it alone. I distracted myself with gardening, but then… I started having panic attacks, even with the smallest of things. I couldn’t even hold my garden shears for a while. Polly eventually insisted I get help though, after we moved into the apartment. She would have let my parents know what’s been going on and… Yeah, I just wasn’t ready to talk to them about anything at the moment. N-not that they are really there in the first place.”

Sunny nodded, remembering that Basil’s parents were frequently out on business trips. As far as he was concerned they lived anywhere but home. “I’m glad Polly stuck around with you.”

“She’s been great. We didn’t talk all that much for a while there, but eventually I started talking about her about… well you know… everything...”

Sunny slowly nodded, suddenly a bit nervous about the idea of Basil letting her know about things that happened in the past, but he knew it was his right to start letting people he could confide in know. “Sounds like you trust her a lot.”

“Yeah, definitely. Kel eventually showed up because I basically avoided everyone at school. Especially Aubrey and her friends. He made sure I wasn’t alone. Eventually, Aubrey stopped glaring at me. Didn’t want to talk to me, not until earlier today, anyway.”

“What happened there?”

“Well she… confronted me about everything. She had a lot to get off her chest. I mean, I get it. I knew she kinda wanted to hit me.”

Sunny gave Basil a knowing look. “I’m honestly surprised she hasn’t punched me. Actually, she was pretty nice to me. Turns out, Kel had to talk her down like, a lot.”

“Has… Hero been doing okay around you?”

“Yeah. I guess. It seems like he’s a little uneasy with me around lately. But then again I can’t blame him.” Sunny decided to withhold the conversation Hero had with him about Basil. He didn’t want that to ruin their time together. 

Pizza was brought to the table within the hour, and the two were quick to grab their slices. Basil delicately took bites out of his piece, little by little. Sunny could eat though. Pizza was his absolute favorite and he would eat it every day if he could. Probably. 

They continued chatting about life in the city and all the things it had to offer. Sunny listened to Basil talk about the plants he was taking care of, both at home and at the community garden, hanging on his every word. He caught himself staring many times, looking into those beautiful aqua eyes. He realized just how much he missed his friend talking to him like this.

In time, when their stomachs were overfilled they decided to grab boxes and split the rest evenly, and they were on their way. Sunny was so close to grabbing Basil’s hand. _Would he mind if I did that? Was it the right time?_ Ultimately, he talked himself out of it, and the rest of their walk home was on the quiet side.

They approached Basil’s door, and it’s flaxen haired tenant turned to Sunny as he opened the door, stopping just within the doorway. 

“Basil I…” Sunny paused, his eyes completely on Basil, darting to each and every feature on his face.

“Y-yes, Sunny?” His mouth was slightly agape, and he cautiously took a step closer to him, clutching the door knob in his free hand. Sunny kept staring, and it did sort of make Basil nervous when he did that. Not that this sort of thing was new to him. Promptly though, he smiled.

“We should do this again soon.”

“Y-yeah.” Basil returned his smile, now leaning against the door, watching dreamily as Sunny started heading down the stairs.

Sunny gave him one final look and lifted a hand, waving to him. “Sleep soundly, flower boy.”

Basil chucked, feeling his face flush a little as he cupped his mouth. “G-goodnight Sunny. You too.” He walked back inside and closed the door, pressing his back up against it as his eyes moved to the ceiling. _Flower boy,_ He thought with a smile still glued to his face. He wondered if that was his way of flirting. It sure worked.

* * *

Sunny walked all over his mind that night. It was such a distracting thought that kept him from getting to sleep. For about an hour now Basil has lied in bed, thinking about him. Those dark eyes. That wispy, raven hair. Sunny had definitely got a little taller in his time away. They had always been roughly the same height when they were younger, but Basil knew he wouldn’t grow that much more. He was alright with that. More than alright.

But now the thoughts of Sunny became such a hassle. Basil was heating up. There was a stir below that he frankly hasn’t felt in such a long time. That was going to become an annoyance too. He tried to think about other things. Flowers. Flowers came to mind. Yes, perhaps those African violets he tried rescuing today. _Hopefully those will be fine when tomorrow comes_. He thought of some other things he could plant. Maybe he could give amaranths a try with spring just around the corner. He was looking forward to the change in the season. Gladiolus could be lovely. Sunflowers, White tulips…

Wait. White tulips just reminded him of Sunny. He wasn’t getting anywhere with this. He was still rather stiff around his pelvis. This wasn’t just going to go away so easily. Basil got up out of bed for a moment, grabbing a small towel from the bathroom before retreating back to his room. He always found messes to be off-putting. Once back in bed, Basil’s hand slowly trailed down past his waist, before long pressing his fingers against his crotch. Three fingers moved up and down his length that was still hidden behind two layers of clothes. The fabric felt nice, but this wouldn’t do.

He slid down his pants and briefs down around his thighs, easily enough since they were loose-fitting. He tried again with his former movements, gliding his fingers along the underside of his member. He didn’t quite do this enough, but perhaps he should. It felt rather nice after all.

Basil needed more to satisfy himself, so he reached to his bedside drawer and found lubricant he stowed away and practically never used. He forgot how he ended up with it. Must’ve been forever ago.

It would certainly see use when Basil dabbed a generous amount on his fingertips, applying it slowly along his shaft. With a brief turn on his side, he wrapped his fingers gently around his dick, using slow strokes at first. There was a small squelching coming from the lube he was using. He could only hope it wasn’t so loud Polly would wake up. 

His breaths began to hasten with his movements, gripping a little tighter to his cock. If he wasn’t fully hard then, he was now. He was a little above average in length, and was surprisingly thick. He wondered how big Sunny was. Could he possibly be bigger than he was? Not that it mattered much to him. It would be amazing to even just feel Sunny's naked body pressed against his. Kissing vigorously on their bed, their own heat being the sole source of warmth as they moved against each other. He imagined grinding up against Sunny, hungrily nibbling his skin.

His thoughts began to spiral out of control as did his noises. He was starting to moan. Not so loudly for others to hear, or so he hoped. But they were desperate mewls as his strokes continued, now faster and much more eager. He wanted to feel Sunny. God did he want to feel him. It didn’t matter as long as Basil could touch him the way he was imagining now.

He switched hands and moved himself on his knees, arching his back up as he tugged harder on his dick. His still well-lubricated hand went around his back down to his butt. He was somewhat nervous about this. He never did it to himself this way before, but he needed to feel more. Much more. He went a little slower around his length while he guided his finger onto his rosebud. He circled his opening timidly at first before he had the resolve to push a digit in slowly.

A sharp breath escaped him as he started to get accustomed to the sensation. Each thrust of his finger dove in a little deeper as he picked up the pace with his strokes once more. He was moaning more consistently now, a little more loudly. He buried his face into a pillow to at least drown out the noise. But now, it was getting hot. Basil quietly whined as he stopped, taking off his green sweater and throwing it aside before continuing.

He drove his finger knuckle deep as he jerked himself impatiently. _More,_ he thought ravenously as he tested another finger to go in. He couldn’t go in as deep this time, but he could definitely feel it now. The sensation was intoxicating as he tried to imagine Sunny doing this. How he wished it was Sunny’s fingers diving into his ass. He needed him so bad. Why didn’t he just pull Sunny into the apartment with him?

He hoped that the pillow just under his face could contain his noises as he plunged his fingers deeply in his tight hole. He felt a small tinge of pain, but he was lost in the moment, and he felt himself nearing. He moved each hand with more desperation and spirit as he felt something rising from his balls. He was close, so very close. He dug his fingers into the walls of his ass as he felt his dick shoot hot, sticky cum onto the bed below him, groaning loudly into the pillow pressed against his mouth. He was sure the washcloth below him caught everything, so he shakily dropped himself onto the bed, flopping onto his flank as his eyes moved to the ceiling. He was a trembling wreck and was too tired to clean up. After all, that’s what showers were for.

His orgasm brought him to a sound sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a little while since the last post. It took me some time to figure out how this would go, and I think I did a lot of do-overs with this chapter before I was satisfied with what I've put down. Also, it's been so long since I've written anything lewd, and I don't think I've ever wrote a masturbation scene, so this is definitely a first in that respect!
> 
> (Chapter title taken from Don't Give Up by Washed Out)


	5. And if only I could, I'd make a deal with God, and get him to swap our places.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a tense air hanging within Kel's house, and an argument would soon break loose.

“What the hell!? This is like, the third time this guy messed me up!”

Sunny had been sitting with Kel in his bedroom watching him play an old eastern RPG Kel almost never played when he first got the console several years ago. This would have been his first time making this much progress, that is for sure. Yet this third boss fight had him fighting some mutated plant creature and its vines.

“Maybe you need to use more defensive buffs here. You have a character that can do that now, you know.”

Kel facepalms and looks at Sunny, obviously disgruntled. “Just seems like a waste of time when I could be doing damage.”

“Yeah, except he doesn’t really do all that much damage to begin with. He is a healer after all. You could also go back and grind a bit. You kind of rushed this whole area and ran from almost all the other encounters.”

“But… it just…” Kel was beet-red from frustration. “This game is so tedious! Spend so much time fighting monsters so I can fight a hard boss and still end up getting wiped along the floor.”

Sunny was pretty amused at that point. Even though he didn’t play many video games anymore, He was still a lot better at these ancient role playing games than he was with the fighting and sports games Kel consistently beat him at. That or he had more patience to fight the little fights over and over. He preferred watching Kel lose his mind over these games than fight an uphill battle at whatever they played together.

“Ahh, screw it, I give up for now.” Kel crawled over the console and shut it off.

“You’re such a quitter, Kel.”

“Man, I just don’t have the spoons for it right now. Besides, I gotta go see Aubrey and Kim today. We’re gonna go pick up some candy for Kim’s brother and then head over to the park to chill out.”

“Oh yeah,” Sunny chuckled, throwing his head back over Hero’s bed. “Ditch me to go hang out with your girlfriends at our old hangout spot? That’s cold.”

“I was about to ask if you wanted to come along. Be our third wheel?”

Sunny pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think it's ‘fourth wheel’ Kel.”

“That’s what I just said. Anyway, want to come along?”

“I mean, I dunno. Are you sure Aubrey would be cool with me being there?”

Kel looked perplexed. “Huh? Why wouldn’t she be?”

“I mean, Basil ran into her earlier yesterday, and that didn’t go so hot. Granted, she didn’t punch his lights out but he says she’s still pretty angry with us.”

“Wait, really?” Kel slapped his hand against his forehead. “Dude I swear, I thought she would be over all that. She was fine the other day!”

“Yeah well you know, Aubrey is a little hard-headed. I’m surprised you even had any influence over her that day. You of all people. Tell me again how you guys got together?”

“Oh,” Kel chuckled, putting both hands on the back of his head as he laid flat on the floor. “It’s kind of a long story. Aubrey and Kim were a thing for a while before and I just so happened to keep running into them--”

“Running into them? Sounds convenient.”

“Dude, shut up. Anyways, I was sort of the third wheel on a few of their outings, or I’d hang out with them and the rest of the hooligans. Once in a blue moon anyways. Mikhael and Angel still kind of tick me off.”

“Doesn’t that guy hate it when you call him that? Does he still go by ‘The Maverick’?”

“Ugh, yes, don’t remind me. It’s so lame.” Kel let out a long sigh, already annoyed with this aspect of the conversation. “Anyway, I guess I just sort of hung around every now and again. Then Kim tells me one day that I sort of grew on Aubrey, or at least started ticking her off less and less. Then, well, we hung out one day and…” Sunny couldn’t see it, but Kel was red again, though not as intensely as when he was getting flustered over the game. “One thing led to another.”

Sunny abruptly lifted his head, an uncharacteristically big grin on his face. “I guess what they say is true. You must like someone a lot if you manage to consistently tick them off. Well, now I know that if I ever wanted to be a part of someone’s harem I should invite myself along to a bunch of their dates.”

“Aubrey doesn’t have a harem, man. It’s just us three. She wouldn't give anyone else she knows the time of day. She'd lose her tolerance with them, except maybe Charlie, she’s always been less of an idiot than the others.”

“You’re one to talk, Kel. Tell me how many years you had to redo Algebra.”

“Hey, I have my smarts!” Kel frowned again, tossing a stray wad of paper at Sunny. “Just not with that mindfuckery.”

“Yeah, if you say so.” Sunny was staring into the ceiling, his mind on a handful of other things. One was the realization that he would have to leave tomorrow evening to catch the train. He really didn’t have much time left here. Of course, if he didn’t care about his job, he would stay a little bit longer. He really didn’t want to leave so soon. He had just started talking to Basil again. Actual talking, not just postcards between each other here and there.

“So, you coming along or nah?” Kel cut off Sunny’s train of thought quite abruptly, lifting his head from the floor.

“Eh, I’m good. You three should have fun. I’ll figure out something to do. Maybe Hero and I can catch up. He’s not working today, right?”

“I mean sure, but… about that…” Kel looked up nervously to Sunny, causing the other to cock his head as they both heard a door shut at the front of the house. Before long Hero was up the stairs with a grocery bag in one hand and a case of Orange Joe in the other.

“Got you your Orange Joe, Kel. Don’t go too crazy with it, okay? Don’t need your stomach halfway exploding from how much you drank the last time.” Hero set down the case of soda next to Kel, knowing he might regret it later. 

“Yo thanks!”

Hero looked over to Sunny briefly, greeting him quickly with only a lift of his hand. He was not very enthusiastic about it. Sunny couldn’t tell if he was tired or busy. After all, he still had groceries to set down in the kitchen. Still, he was just as silent last night. What could be wrong?

“Uh, Hero? Is something up?” Sunny got up from his spot, approaching Hero slowly.

Hero turned his head, staring back at Sunny before sighing and shaking his head. “Later Sunny, I gotta help unload groceries.” He quickly escaped out of the room, leaving Kel and Sunny to exchange glances with each other. Eventually, Kel puffed up his cheeks before letting out a quick breath of air.

“Just give it a minute, let him do his thing, then talk to him? He’s got a lot on his mind right now.”

Sunny tried to contain any dreaded look on his face but it was already made apparent to Kel, so there was not much use at this point. Sunny had a bad feeling about this.

Eventually, Kel went off to shower and Hero joined Sunny in the bedroom, figuring this was their only opportunity to talk alone until Kel left to go hang out with Aubrey and Kim, which wouldn’t be for a while. Hero had the small of his back pressed against the desk, his arms crossed. He avoided looking at Sunny for a minute or two before letting out a sigh.

“Look, I’m just going to get this out now. I saw you with Basil last night, on my way back home from work.”

Sunny could feel his heart dropping from his chest to his belly. He knew in the back of his mind this would come up again. What he didn’t anticipate was being seen with Basil. By Hero no less. He had no words for this situation, so he decided to let Hero continue.

“It looks like you two had fun doing… whatever you were doing. I guess it was going to happen at some point, huh?” Hero flashed his frown at Sunny, who sat across the room on Kel’s bed.

“I… I know how you feel about this Hero. I don--”

“No, Sunny. No you don’t.” Hero lifted himself from the desk, pacing around the room. “Do you realize what he did to Mari? Has that ever occurred to you? Has it occurred to you that it took us four years to finally know what happened to her? I blamed myself all that time for what happened to her, thinking that she killed herself. I let myself go. It took me a long time to start living life normally again. When you finally left your house and spoke to all of us again, I thought things would go back to how things were. Even if you moved, we'd all talk to each other like we used to. Then... you tell us what really happened."

Sunny had nothing constructive to say at this point, and the dread was not going away.

“I mean, who comes up with such a horrible idea? Instead of being straight up about the whole thing, Basil’s thinking ‘Yeah, I know! Let’s hang her up on the tree. Then no one would ever know what really happened!’” The image of Mari’s lifeless body still haunted Sunny to this day. Perhaps not as bad when he was isolated from everyone, but it was still the cause of many nightmares and a lot of his anxieties. 

Sunny clenched his fist and slammed it on the bed, rising to his feet. “Yeah? Well, did you forget what happened in the first place, Hero!? I was the one who pushed her. I killed Mari. Not Basil. Not you, not anyone fucking else. It was me. And instead of being angry with me, you are pushing the blame on Basil!” Sunny let out shaky breaths as his eyes were downcast. “Yeah, maybe he did make things worse. But he was trying to protect me, and he feels just as horrible about it, if not more!”

“Like that’s any excuse, Sunny!”

“It isn’t! But even though I was equally to blame for the incident, even though I also hid it from everyone for a long time, I'm let off the hook. Aubrey was the same way, she directed all her anger at Basil and spared me. Kel was somehow able to convince her to be civil when I arrived.”

Hero scoffed, his glare entirely fixed on Sunny now. “You lost a sister because of an argument gone wrong. Basil didn’t. Basil framed it as a suicide. Of course people would be pissed with him.”

“Did you forget that I helped him? My mind wasn’t there at the time, but I still went along with it. The whole thing haunted us for over four years, it’s any wonder we could move on at all. I fought suicidal depression and panic disorder and God knows what else all that time. Basil was pretty much in the same state. He was holding garden shears when I went in his room!”

“Yeah, then he attacks you with them because he thought you were a monster that was haunting him! You realize how psychotic that is?”

Sunny was livid. He stomped closer to Hero. “I wasn’t any better off! After my dad left us, I was alone at the house all the time. I was convinced something was following me around, watching my every move. I could see it in my bathroom mirror! You call Basil psychotic, but I wasn't far off either. Yeah, everything that happened was entirely our fault, but don’t pretend we had it easy. We might have gotten away with it, but I was a prisoner of my own mind. You? You didn’t have to live with any of that! Not like I did.”

Hero was rapidly breathing, still staring daggers at Sunny. That last remark hit close to home. “You know what? Maybe I did let you off too easily.” He shook his head, a certain calm returning to his voice. “I wanted to forgive you. I wanted so badly to let things go.” Hero’s voice started to quiver, pools of tears gathering under his eyes. “I didn’t want to face the truth that was right in front of me. You killed her. And then you both hung her. And now, after three years, you are talking to Basil again, as if none of that happened. Figures, murder accomplices belong together. You take away the girl I loved--”

"You weren't the only one who loved her. We all did! Basil looked up to her. You aren’t telling me anything I haven’t told myself before. We did something really horrible and we tried rolling the carpet over it. But eventually? I was able to keep living. I still hate myself for all of it, but I kept holding on.”

Hero scoffed. “Lucky you.” He wiped his tears, motioning to the door and bumping against Sunny’s shoulder as he was about to exit the room, opening up the door with Kel standing right in front of the doorway. Kel’s face worthy of a doe staring into the headlights. “I’m through with you Sunny. I can’t even look at you right now.” Kel quickly moved out of the way of an enraged Hero who practically flew down the stairs, out of sight. 

Sunny sighed, his breathing still erratic. Hero had every reason to be angry, but all of his words hurt. If there was anyone in the group who could speak his frustrations with a clear mind and a calm voice, it was Hero. At least that’s what Sunny thought.

Kel walked up to Sunny and grabbed his shoulders, embracing him tightly. “I’m sorry I didn’t think of all this sooner, dude. I just thought we could… I could get us all together again. I thought I could prevent all this drama. I just wanted us all to be happy again.”

Sunny reciprocated the embrace, resting his chin at the crook of Kel’s neck. He didn’t even realize Kel was still wrapped in a towel. That, or he didn’t care. “Yeah, maybe this wasn’t the best idea. But it isn’t really your fault. Maybe I came back too soon.”

Kel let go of Sunny, sighing and dropping his towel. Thank god he was in boxers. “Believe it or not, some of us missed you. I missed you.”

“Thanks Kel.” Sunny managed to smile at him, in spite of him still being shaken up. “I… I think I should probably leave.”

“Where are you gonna go?”

“I dunno. I can still get myself a room at the motel. It would only be for a day. I leave tomorrow anyway.”

Kel let out a sigh. “Well, okay. If that’s what you want. Maybe it’s for the better. This is the first time I have seen Hero lose his cool like that.”

“First time for everything, right?”

“Y-yeah. For sure. Uh… well, make sure you say goodbye to my mom at least. Word of warning though, she will be kind of disappointed you didn’t stay. Wish this could be more like home for you right now.”

Sunny nodded, resting a hand on Kel’s shoulder. “Yeah, me too. But that’s the way it is.” Sunny hoisted up his duffel bag, looking around to see if he is leaving anything laying about. He isn’t. He lets out a breath of air as he proceeds out of the room. “I’ll text you when I get settled in.”

Sunny left the house, saying his goodbyes to Kel and Hero’s mother. It was just as they said, she was disappointed with him leaving. Sunny was able to keep things brief, as to not drag Hero back into everything. He was lucky that he was able to pass it off as going to stay with another friend for the night. 

He threw his coat over him and walked out into the cold breeze. There was no rain nor harsh winds. It was still cloudy and the sun wasn’t visible, but it was at least dry. He walked to the intersection, heading in the direction of the park. 

The thoughts of Sunny and Hero’s conversation lingered in his mind. He had still wondered why Hero, or really anybody could be angry with Basil, but go easy on him? It was as much his fault as it was Basil’s. And yet, even though Sunny wanted to keep torturing himself with those thoughts, though he still believed that’s what he deserved, he’s been doing it for so long, he nearly became exhausted with despising himself. 

It wouldn’t stop that easily. Self-loathing doesn’t just unwrite itself because someone is exhausted by it. But he had no heart to keep going with destroying himself from the inside out. He knew he needed to move on. He had to. For his mother, for his therapist, for all of his friends. For Basil.

But most importantly, he had to keep going for himself. And though he still hasn’t forgiven himself, there was still a part of him that wanted to try to. As long as that part existed, so would all his will to keep living. If he could cherish Kel, Basil, Hero, Aubrey, and Mari, and all of the memories he shared with them, maybe one day he can learn to cherish himself.

Those thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he noticed Aubrey and Kim just ahead of him, walking on the same sidewalk. He lifted his hand to wave at them, and by the time he was a yard away, they stopped in their tracks.

“H-hey Aubrey. Hey Kim.”

“Hey Sunny.” Kim gave him a brief upwards nod.

“Kel ready yet?” Aubrey had her arms crossed, detaching herself from Kim for the moment while they stood across from Sunny.

“Ah, Probably not. He was still getting dressed when I left.”

“Dude,” Aubrey clenched her forehead groaning. “He takes forever.” That was when she noticed Sunny’s duffel bag. “Yo, are you leaving already?”

Sunny gave his bag a slight lift, gesturing towards it as he shook his head. “No, not ‘til tomorrow. I kind of had to get out of there. Hero is kind of mad at me right now.”

“Oh shit,” Kim mumbled as Aubrey stared into Sunny.

“So, he finally blew a gasket, huh?”

“Yeah, he found out I was hanging out with Basil last night, saw me walking with him or something. Don’t know when that was honestly, but he saw.”

Kim gave Sunny a slight, knowing grin. She herself saw Basil yesterday smiling for no clear reason and she could only suspect it had to do with Sunny. Aubrey didn’t look as amused, but she acknowledged him with a nod.

“Well, it’s about time you two talked properly, but you actually hung out, huh? Good for you both.”

Sunny looked at her puzzledly. “Say, Aubrey. Why are you being so nice to me? You and Basil kind of had a thing yesterday, but you've been nothing but civil with me.”

Aubrey shook her head. “Believe me, I wasn’t going to let you hear the end of it. Part of me still wanted to punch your lights out. I told Basil the same thing. But…” she sighed, glancing at Kim for a moment before dragging her eyes back to him. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. I guess I didn’t want to disappoint Kel.”

Sunny chuckled. “That’s rich coming from you.”

“Don’t push it, Sunny. Look, I think you are both idiots, and you did something near unforgivable and I’m not going to just get over it. But I know neither of you can either. You two were both involved in her death after all and I know you both regret how you dealt with it. We all lost Mari, including you and Basil. I don’t know if I can forgive you but… I get it. You were both twelve. You were scared.”

“I’m so lost here,” Kim cut in, pushing her glasses up her nose. She was understandably perplexed. Aubrey probably didn’t tell her the whole story.

“Later, babe.” Aubrey mumbled back to Kim, reaching out to lightly rub her back. “You both have every right to try to find peace in your lives. You are allowed to move on. It isn’t about us. It’s about you. Your like, healing process or whatever? That still matters, whether or not Hero or me or anyone else forgives you. And I know it’s trite and you've heard this several times already but, Mari wouldn’t want you destroying yourself over what happened to her.”

Trite was one word for it, but she was right nonetheless. Sunny smiled at Aubrey gratefully. “Thank you. I’m trying my best. I really am. Some days are really hard. But I’ve had some good support since I moved. I don’t think I’d have made it without. To be honest, I don’t think I would have come back here. If it weren’t for Kel nagging me, I probably wouldn't have.”

“Told you, he’s a real thorn in the ass. But I kind of adore him,” Aubrey chuckled. “I know that’s the last thing you thought you’d hear from me.”

Sunny laughed heartily. “Yeah, it kind of is.”

“Us three kind of balance each other out. Maybe what they say about opposites attracting has some truth to it.”

Sunny nodded and approached Aubrey, bringing her into a hug. “Thanks for being as good as you were to both me and Basil. You didn’t have to do that.”

Aubrey groaned but wrapped her arms around Sunny nonetheless. “Don’t be stupid. Of course I did. I love you both to death, even if I’m going to be mad at you for a really long time.”

“I can live with that.”

Aubrey released him and flipped her pink hair back over her shoulder. “Well, I’d give you a place to stay but as you know, my house is a disaster.”

“It’s okay Aubrey,” Sunny shook his head. “I’ll figure something out.”

“You know… It’s not like Basil will shut the door on you. Just ask him if you can stay for the night. Because seriously, that motel WILL give you bed bugs. Count on it.” She grinned widely. “Besides, he would love to have you there. I know it, and I know you know it.”

Sunny didn’t even try to fight the blush forming on his face. She was right. “I’ll give it a shot.”

Aubrey took Kim’s hand back and walked past Sunny, but by the time she was a few feet away, she turned her head back. “See ya around.” 

“Later.” Sunny smiled, waving to the two before continuing on. He decided he would head to Basil’s apartment. The worst thing that could happen was that he would say no, he figured. The prospect of it all made him a little nervous to be sure, but what were the alternatives? At this point he was sure that Basil would be home. It was nearly evening and the sky was starting to darken. He thanked himself for not walking any later. Thanks to his trauma, he didn't mix very well with walking around alone at night.

As soon as he got to the complex, he walked up the steps to Basil’s apartment. He sucked in a few breaths before knocking with the back of his hand. It took a few seconds, but eventually he heard light footfalls from the other side. Basil opened the door. Most of his hair was all tied up into a neat bun. The rest fell along his forehead and temples, which he tried to brush out of the way as he answered Sunny. “O-oh! Sunny! Hey.”

“Hi Basil. Hope you weren’t too busy.” Sunny flashed him a wide smile, causing the other to return him an open-mouthed grin of his own.

“Ah, not at all, what’s the occasion?” He glanced down to the bag Sunny was holding. “Wait, uhm, you’re all packed up? You’re leaving already?”

“Oh no, not quite,” Sunny reassured. “That’s not ‘til tomorrow evening. I…” _Come on, you can do it Sunny._ “I was wondering if I could stay here for the night.”

Basil cupped his mouth, shocked. “R-really? Well I don’t mind, but why?”

Sunny let out a breath from his nose, pursing his lips. “Kel. I have to sleep right next to his bed. And he farts in his sleep, without blankets over him.” He didn’t want to tell him Hero got mad at him, not quite yet. Of course, Basil didn’t seem the slightest amused.

“Sunny… are you sure that’s the reason?” He was completely serious in tone, tilting his head. Of course Basil could tell when Sunny lied. Even if it was small stuff.

“Heh. I wish. No, Hero saw us last night and he got mad at me for hanging out with you.”

Basil nervously scratched the back of his head, causing a few hairs from his bun to fall loose. “O-oh… I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have p-put you in that position.”

“Don’t be silly Basil, it was my idea to take you to Gino’s yesterday. Whatever is up with Hero is his problem.”

Basil let out a breath of relief, glancing behind him to the rest of the apartment. Polly was napping on the couch within. “W-well, go ahead and come in. You can set your stuff in my room. You’ll probably be sleeping in there too. Hope you don’t mind.”

 _No, that’s perfect_. “Not at all, I’m sure we will make it work.”

Basil led Sunny into the apartment and helped him settle in, offering to make him tea or to pour him a glass of water immediately after he set his bags down. He was always trying to be a good host to whoever came to his place. He also offered Sunny supper, as he had made chicken and white rice just a bit ago, hence the apron tied around him.

With that, Basil helped Sunny make himself at home as the evening started to pass by. It was anyone's guess where this overnight stay would lead to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to thank everyone for all their support for this fic. The comments you all left and the hits the fic slowly generated helped spur me forward. It's been so long that I've been able to keep a multiple-part project like this going, even for this long. I suffered from writer's block for a good eight years and I was scared that I wouldn't be able to pick up the pen (or keyboard, more accurately) ever again. It hasn't been an easy process and I found myself having to go back to make edits here and there to clear up inconsistencies and grammar issues, but I'm happy to be back in the game, and with readers who want to see where this story goes.
> 
> So again, thank you all. It really does mean a lot.
> 
> (Chapter title is taken from Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush)


	6. And I can't sleep, 'cause you've got strange powers, you're in my dreams.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunny stays the night with Basil after leaving Kel's house. Would this be an ordinary stay, or...?

Basil’s apartment wasn’t the biggest Sunny has ever seen, but there was no denying it was cozy. For the past hour he’s been there, he sat at the dining table watching Basil clean up around the kitchen while he ate the chicken and rice Basil cooked up earlier. The aroma of teriyaki still hung in the lime-painted room he was in. Not an overpowering smell, it was very slight. 

Sunny’s eyes remained on the lithe blonde who still had an apron fastened around him, which only half covered the white long sleeve shirt he was wearing. It’s been so long that he was in Basil’s place. Too long. He wondered if Basil’s bed was still as comfortable as he had remembered. _I’m getting ahead of myself already,_ he figured. _Basil is just letting me stay the night._

“S-Sunny? Hope you aren’t getting bored.” Damn, he already noticed the other’s eyes on him.

“No. Not at all,” Sunny quickly looked away, though it was already too late. “I was a little lost in thought there.”

Basil chuckled, turning his head back to the stove as he wiped down its surface with the wet towel. “Oh, alright. Don’t worry, I won't be too long. After this I can get you set up in my room.” He quickly looked back to Sunny. “Uhm, not that you need to go to bed right away or anything!”

Sunny laughed. He thought Basil was so adorable when he looked worried like he did now. “I know what you meant. It’s okay.”

Basil let out a sigh to himself, hiding a grin from Sunny as he finished up with the oven. He motioned to the table and, noticing Sunny had been done with dinner, he retrieved his plate and washed it in the soapy water that still remained in the sink. He was quick to ask if dinner was alright and fretted over the lack of spices used on the chicken, but Sunny was quick to ease those fears. 

“Polly taught me a thing or two about cooking when we moved in here, since she had to go back to working in a regular nursing home. Sometimes her job keeps her there for a while.”

“She taught you well,” Sunny smiled warmly to Basil. “Thanks for the meal.”

Basil giggled as he drained the water in the sink, clenching a damp rag in the other hand. “Can’t let you go without eating, can we? I’m not going to let you go thin like you were when you finally left your house,” he teased.

Sunny scoffed, the corners of his mouth still reaching to his cheeks. “I appreciate it.” He really didn’t have the best eating habits when he locked himself up. Bags of chips and ice cream here, leftover steak there. With his lack of exercise, he was surprised his metabolism staved off even a protruding belly.

“Well, let’s head to my room, I can show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

Basil led Sunny to his bedroom, a right turn from the archway out of the kitchen as he hung up the apron on the rack just outside it. It was a dimly lit room with only the end table lamp on. Like before, Basil kept a few flowers in his bedroom, though many were back in the kitchen or along the living room window. It was a welcome sight.

Sunny wandered around the room and, noticing the small closet in the wall opposite to the bed, he laid his eyes on the old camera on the shelf inside. “You still have your camera, I see.”

Basil was in the middle of tidying up the bed. He always made his bed when he woke up every morning, but the fastidious homebody he was, he had to make sure it was nice and neat. “Oh! Y-yeah, I don’t use it a whole lot anymore. When it wasn’t so stormy out I would take pictures at the community garden, but that’s about it.”

Sunny looked back to Basil, giving him the most endearing look. “Shame, I always liked your photos.”

“Heh,” Basil blushed. “I would like to take more, I just always seem to forget about it. That or I don’t see a good opportunity for it. It was easier when I had friends to take photos of.”

“What about Kel?”

“He goes out of his way to ask me to take photos of him, but you know me! I like to capture people when they least expect to have photos taken of them.” He motioned to the closet next to Sunny and pulled out a tote, opening it up to find blankets amid the extra bedding inside. “Y-you can sleep on the bed tonight. I can take the floor.”

Sunny raised his eyebrow. “Wait, no don’t do that. I can take the floor.”

“R-really, it’s okay!” Basil was trying to reassure Sunny, but he couldn’t find what he was looking for. He had a futon and a sleeping bag in one of these totes. At least he thought he did, so he took a look at the others in the closet. Still nothing. “Ahhhh, crap.”

“What?”

“I can’t find anything to lay down. Ugh.”

Sunny pursed his lips and glanced to the bed. He remembered Basil had a twin-sized mattress when they were younger, but this one was bigger, definitely large enough to accommodate them both comfortably. “Uh, well, what if we just shared the bed? That’s not too weird, right?”

Basil looked at Sunny, wide-eyed, another blush forming on his face. “O-oh! I mean, if you don’t mind.”

Sunny shook his head and sat down on the bed. “Not at all.” He scooted himself up against the wall next to the pillows, watching Basil follow suit as he took the other end of the bed, sitting along the edge but facing Sunny.

“I-it kind of has been forever since we slept in the same bed, huh?”

“It has.” Sunny chuckled, reminiscing on the past when the group used to stay the night over at his place. It was either his house or Basil’s. Often what would have happened was Basil would feel too crowded sleeping in the little forts Kel, Hero and Aubrey made and go to sleep next to Sunny instead. Sunny was pretty much the same way.

“Didn’t your dad think it was weird when I slept in your bed next to you?”

The dark-clad boy let out a long sigh, but he still managed to smile at Basil. “Dad thought a lot of things were weird. He was very rigid. If it weren’t for my mother intervening, he wouldn’t have even let Aubrey sleep around Kel and Hero like that.”

“Y-yeah. I just mean--”

“He knew we were close friends Basil,” Sunny cut him off. “And yeah, us being close annoyed him.” He lifted his chin, glancing at the ceiling. “But a lot of things did. He can’t imagine two boys being comfortable enough to share the same bed. Not unless if they were, well… you get the picture.”

Basil fell silent. He always worried that Sunny’s dad would eventually try to separate him from Sunny. To say his dad was friendly with any of the people in the group would be pure fiction, but Basil? He could swear that Sunny’s dad glared at him in the past. He wondered if he ever badgered Sunny about any of that.

“You haven’t heard at all from him, haven’t you?”

Sunny shook his head. “Nope. Ever since that time, he has not talked to me, or mom for that matter. I don’t even think she tried getting a hold of him again when we moved. Maybe it’s for the better. He was hard on all of us.”

Basil nodded, but his thoughts returned him to that night of Mari’s murder, from the point he caught Sunny pushing her down the stairs. He tried not to think about what could have been, but there were things that stuck out. If he didn’t stage her death, would Sunny’s family stay as fragmented as it was? Certainly, Sunny would still be consumed with guilt. There was no doubting that. But he wondered if their friendship would have endured from that point. If Sunny would have still locked himself up in that house, and if he would have ultimately left Faraway.

He got caught up in these thoughts for a moment too long, and there was a void of silence between them. When he returned to his senses, he noticed Sunny staring into the ground. He seemed lost in thought, but there was something rather distraught about his expression.

“S-Sunny? Is something wrong?”

Sunny was on the verge of tears, his eyes noticeably wet, and when he finally looked up at Basil, his lips quivered before he spoke. “Basil… you scared me.”

The blonde’s eyes widened. “Wh-what?”

“I thought I lost you there, that night. I… you were holding shears in your hand and… It felt like the world was going to end.”

Basil’s mouth was agape, a breath hitching from his lips. “Sunny I…” He lowered his gaze. What could have happened that night was all too obvious. The room was dark, and Basil held onto the sharp garden tool so intently. Not to mention days before he was panicking over Sunny leaving him. “I just… I thought I was going to lose you too! I didn’t see you for four years after everything that happened, and I never could get over that either. I felt trapped, and you were going away.”

Basil gulped, thinking over his words. He knew he had little to say that could comfort his friend, but he continued nonetheless. “I was in a bad place then. I felt I had nothing to lose. After you left, Polly set me up with a therapist, with my parents’ approval. I was hospitalized for a while before I could go back home. N-not without reason either. Getting better… it wasn’t easy. There was a lot I had to unlearn, and I still have a lot of healing to do. And I-- I’m sorry. I hardly ever wrote to you, did I?”

Sunny gave him a slight nod in response.

“After our fight, when I slashed your eye, I thought I didn’t deserve to be your friend. I wanted to write you an actual letter, but all I could manage were postcards on Christmas and your birthday and stuff. I hoped that you were doing better than I was. But I was also afraid you’d have forgotten all about me.”

That last statement stung. “I would have never forgotten about you,” Sunny said in a near whisper.

Basil gave Sunny a difficult look, his face contorting to match the feeling in his gut. “I know, but... my thoughts about you weren’t healthy. I went out of my way to protect you. I didn’t want you to leave me. Even after Mari’s death, I didn’t think you could do anything bad. I held you in such a high esteem. It took a long time for therapy to bring me back to reality, to make me realize that sometimes people do horrible things.”

Sunny gave the slightest of nods, and his gaze returned to the floor. It was a horrible time to be sure. Both of them were in borderline psychotic states at the time, and saw things that were rightfully regarded as hallucination. But they didn’t see them that way. Not with their respective traumas.

It was then he finally noticed that Basil crawled over to him, reaching out to put his palm against Sunny’s cheek. “I missed you a lot Sunny. I really did. I just couldn’t find the words I needed to talk to you. I’m sorry that I couldn’t for so long, even when you returned to Faraway.”

Sunny looked back up to Basil, gulping. “You can’t blame yourself for that. I tried to write to people as well, including you. In the end, the only person I could talk to was Kel. He was the first to write to me, actually.”

Basil nodded, his hand dropping from Sunny’s face as he straightened his back again, still ever so close to Sunny. “Kel was also the first person to speak to me. Actually, he was the only person. Hero and Aubrey avoided me.” His expression contorted again, and he looked up to Sunny. “How… could you have forgiven me? I seriously hurt you, you know.”

Sunny shrugged, his eyes flickering between Basil and the bed. “I wasn’t any better off. I went into your room thinking I could have helped you but then, things went out of control. I don’t exactly remember how it happened, but neither of us were in the right mind. We were really caught up in something terrible.”

“Y-yeah. There were a lot of things we should have done. But those things happened, and we dealt with it in our own ways, for better and for worse. Mostly worse.”

Sunny’s lips curved into a slight smile. “You said it.” Basil let out a long breath, returning the smile.

“I really missed you too,” Sunny continued, moving himself closer to Basil. Their faces were only inches apart. “The thing I regret most was not being there for you. When you needed me the most.”

Basil was getting red again, peering longingly to Sunny. “It’s really okay Sunny. I mean… Eventually I learned how to live without all my friends for a while. To work on myself and stuff.”

“Still, I should have done more after she died.” This time, it was Sunny’s hand on Basil’s cheek. “Please don’t scare me like that again.”

“S-Sunny, I--”

He was cut off when he felt Sunny’s hot breath blow against his lips, all before the gap was closed. Their mouths met, causing Basil’s eyes to widen even more. _Was this really happening?_ Sunny held himself against the other for a long kiss. No real movement, except for his arms wrapping around the flower boy in front of him. Basil broke the kiss after what seemed to be an eternal moment locked together. “Th-that wasn’t what I expected. I…”

“Too soon?”

Basil’s mouth was agape again, but eventually he smiled and shook his head. “N-no. B-but why?” He was clueless as to what all this meant. Could Sunny have felt what he has this entire time? This wasn’t a dream he was having?

Sunny’s eyelids were curtsied, his gaze was fixed on the other. “I love you Basil, I always have. You mean the entire world to me.”

He was close to speechless. They were obviously close in the past, but Basil had always longed for Sunny, to be more than just close friends. If it weren’t for all the horrible things that happened, he wondered if their relationship would have flourished sooner. Basil finally smiled widely to Sunny, tears starting to well up in his eyelids. “I-I love you too. I’ve… cared about you for so long. I just… never thought this would happen.” He chuckled, attempting to dry his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. ”I thought it was always in my imagination.”

Sunny shook his head and leaned into Basil again, locking their lips together once more. This time, their mouths remained open while their tongues mingled and danced around each other. Basil nibbled on the raven-haired boy’s lower lip with each close, before they opened themselves back up to one another. 

Sunny moved himself around Basil, planting both of his hands on the bed at each side of the blonde as he laid him flat with a gentle push, still within an impassioned kiss. Their need for each other could only grow at this point, and the heat between them became more than they could bear. Sunny lifted his mouth off of Basil’s only to kiss his cheek down to the neck, causing him to gasp as he started suckling the soft skin of the boy’s throat.

Meanwhile, Sunny’s hands got busy, one running fingers through Basil’s hair, effectively undoing the bun he put up earlier, the other going for the hem of Basil’s shirt, moving underneath. The noirette looked into Basil’s eyes. “Is this okay?”

“Y-yes.” Basil moaned weakly, fully embracing whatever Sunny was about to do next. He was still registering everything in his mind, even though just last night he fantasized about being touched by his friend like this. He wrapped his arms around Sunny’s neck, keeping him close as he felt Sunny try to lift up his shirt. He helped by sitting up slightly, allowing him to pull off the shirt completely and drop it from the bed.

Sunny looked down at Basil’s lithe figure. Just about no muscle definition, except what little was at the arms. He was so soft. Sunny looked back up to Basil, as if to ask if it was okay to continue. His response was a smile, and he lowered his head to Basil’s chest, kissing down from collarbone to belly, and back up to the aqua-eyed boy’s lips. 

Basil motioned to Sunny’s shirt as well, but he was a step ahead as he took off the black fabric from his chest, tossing it off next to Basil’s shirt. They continued like this, shirtless, for several moments. Kissing, nibbling, and rubbing up against each other. Their groins naturally collided with some of their movements. It was a wonderful feeling. It was also frustrating. There was so much in the way from them feeling more.

Through all of this they removed more clothes, and they were completely naked. It was like everything Basil had dreamed of. Looking down, he saw Sunny’s length. They were both erect. No way they couldn’t be after making out like this, after years of pent-up sexual tension. Sunny was definitely bigger than Basil, but not by too much. He was by no means monstrously big. He could still fit his hand around Sunny’s cock. _He is perfect just like this,_ Basil mused to himself.

Sunny’s lips circled from Basil’s belly to his pelvis and back around, making him anxious. And Sunny saw this, with Basil’s lower lip quivering and a pleading look of his eyes. Sunny chuckled as his hand trailed up the blonde’s silky smooth thighs to his length, lifting it straight up from the rest of Basil’s body.

Sunny kissed the tip with moist lips, causing Basil to gasp when he took the head into his mouth. He gave him a playful lick along the glans before his mouth engulfed half of Basil’s dick. Moans started to slip out from Basil’s mouth, and he tried to trap them with his hand, to no avail. 

Sunny was indeed clumsy and a little inexperienced, but the sensation of his dear friend doing this to him was astounding. Basil couldn’t help but buck greedily into Sunny’s mouth further, eliciting a hum of approval. Sunny sucked Basil off slowly and tenderly, letting his tongue do most of the work as his head bobbed up and down. He looked up to Basil with a half-lidded gaze as he continued to pleasure him, rubbing a hand up and down Basil’s leg.

The combined sensations caused his moans to escalate and quicken, his breathing going out of control. He dropped his hand onto the bed and clutched the bedsheets, his dick practically getting swallowed up by Sunny. He was sucking so vigorously now. Basil was reaching his limit. Too long and--

He stopped.

Basil head bolted upwards, looking at Sunny with an almost confused expression as the noirette gestured to turn Basil onto his belly. The other reciprocated, laying flat on the bed as Sunny lifted up his hips slightly. Compared to Sunny, Basil had quite a plush, round ass. He couldn’t decide if Basil was the fortunate one or if he was. To be able to see this, let alone feel this was incredible. He rubbed each cheek gently before moving in. His thumb grazed Basil’s puckered hole, rubbing with little pressure. Basil responded with a gentle rock with his hips.

Being prepped by Sunny like this got Basil so excited. He began to hug the pillow below him while Sunny’s thumb circled his asshole. He moaned with delight, relaxing himself on the pillow before he felt something go between his cheeks. Something wet.

He knew what was going on. “Wait! D-dont lick there!” Basil couldn’t be any more red than this, but his outburst was to no avail as Sunny continued anyway. There was a slight taste of sweat as Sunny’s tongue flicked against Basil’s opening, but he was otherwise clean down there. He coaxed Basil with a delighted moan by rubbing one of his cheeks, continuing to rim the blonde. 

It felt weird at first, admittedly, but also nice. His ass was so sensitive to each stroke of Sunny’s tongue. Now this was something that never took part in his fantasies, but he would soon begin to welcome it, moaning into the pillow as Sunny prodded his tongue into Basil’s hole. So strange and unfamiliar and yet so erotic.

But even this had a limit to how much it would satisfy Basil. He turned his head far enough to look at Sunny at the corner of his eye. “I n-need you.”

Sunny chuckled and lifted his mouth away from Basil’s ass, and with the flower boy’s guidance found the bottle of lube that would be necessary for the next act. Sunny applied a generous dab around Basil’s entrance, his finger slowly going inside. He was sure that Basil needed a little more prep and yet, Basil’s ass was quite amicable to insertion already. He put a small amount of lube on another finger and inserted that too.

Basil gyrated his hips eagerly, still moaning deeply as fingers rubbed along his inner walls. He needed Sunny so badly. He turned his head again to give him another pleading look. He was a little nervous, no doubt, but he had been ready for this at least since yesterday.

Sunny smiled back at him before moving to his knees. He lubed up his own length and signaled Basil to get on his back once more. He lifted Basil’s legs up as he pressed his cockhead against the blonde’s ass. There was some resistance, but it only took a little push before he gradually went inside. Already he was taken aback by how tight and warm Basil felt.

They shared a gasp once Sunny entered him. The sudden sensation of being filled was so new for Basil, and yet there was only a small twinge of discomfort. Nothing painful. But just the very notion of Sunny finally being inside him made his eyelids flutter. He felt him pull out a little more before sliding back in, each pull followed up with a thrust farther in. Eventually, Sunny was all but fully sheathed inside Basil’s ass.

Basil looked up into Sunny’s eyes, both of them looking at each other with half-lidded gazes as Basil wrapped his legs around the other’s waist, his hands rubbing up and down Sunny’s firm arms as the obsidian-eyed boy earnestly moved inside him. They gasped and moaned, and Sunny started to pick up the pace, his thighs slapping against Basil’s buttocks. He was practically being swallowed up by the blonde’s greedy asshole as he thrusted himself in.

The flower boy's eyes began to roll backwards, his arms now clinging around Sunny’s neck. His ass felt so wonderful, so full. The sensation was intoxicating. He looked up into Sunny’s eyes before clumsily kissing him. Their tongues wrestled eagerly while the raven-haired boy pounded into Basil, their moans carrying well outside of the room as their lovemaking continued. 

Between the two of them, sweat and tears of pleasure and joy began to build up. Basil was reduced to such a chattering mess as he cried for Sunny to go harder, faster, deeper. Their senses intensified as they each felt their orgasms welling up.

Basil craved for this moment for so long, and Sunny knew it. He moved a hand down to Basil’s length, gripping it tightly and jerking all while continuing to burrow into him with his swelling cockhead.

“N-no! N-n-not there S-Sunny, I’m g-going to--”

It was too late. Basil quickly covered his mouth before he could scream, the heels of his feet digging into Sunny’s back. He felt a stream of hot, white cum make its way to the summit of his dick, rushing out and coating his belly and the top of Sunny’s fingers, each mewl and breath quivering as tears streamed down his cheeks. Such bliss.

Sunny was not far behind. He let out a harsh groan and finished off inside Basil, slowing down his thrusts as his cock sprayed a generous helping of cum deep inside his hole. The pleasure was just too much as he shakily removed himself from Basil’s ass, his seed drooling unrelentingly from the gaped opening Sunny molded it into.

They both lie near breathless on the bed, staring deeply at each other as Basil greeted Sunny with a shaky, open-mouthed smile, moving over to lay his head on the others’ shoulder. It was any wonder he could move at all, all parts of his body from the waist down felt like gelatin. Sunny smiled back to him, coiling one arm around Basil and nuzzled his chin through flaxen hair. For tonight, both of them can relax just like this. 

They soon fell asleep in each other's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was the moment we were all waiting for. Or at least me and a few of you who have come this far. I have to say, I lack words for this because it speaks for itself. I haven't written a true smut scene for so long, so part of me is paranoid I lost my touch. I wanted their first time with each other to be as tender as possible, as with the rest of this scene. After all, they had plenty of ground to cover in the last three years. So much to talk about, so little time.
> 
> Overall I think it reminded me why I wrote this in the first place. I wanted the best possible ending for these two, regardless of what that meant. In the end, I knew I wanted them to be together. I just think they have so much love to give each other, even with their troubled past.
> 
> So, thank you all for coming this far. There will be one more chapter to go as we wrap up this little story. I don't think it will end there, because I already have some ideas for the other characters.
> 
> (Chapter title is taken from Strange Powers by The Magnetic Fields)


	7. Oh, my life is changing every day, in every possible way.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today was the day that Sunny would leave Faraway. How would he spend the rest of his time in his hometown?

As his eye began to flutter open, Sunny knew that today would be the day he had to leave Faraway again.

A large part of him wanted to keep lying here, with Basil nestled into him like this. Their arms around each other and legs intertwined as the world passed them by. To forget all obligations, even just for a day longer. Life was hardly that generous though.

There was a knock at the door, followed by another. Basil began to stir, and realizing there were people at his door, he bolted upwards. “Crap, Polly went to work already. I better get th--"

Sunny’s eye opened again to the blurred vision of Basil at the bedroom door. “Uhm, Basil darling,” he started to say groggily. “Don’t you think you should get some clothes on first?”

“Oh.” Basil blushed, nodding to Sunny. “Good idea.” He shouted across the room that he would be there shortly as he thrust some pajama bottoms on, throwing a bathrobe around him before skipping off to the living room. Sunny thought it might be a good idea for him to get dressed too. It was then he realized that they both didn’t shower after what happened last night. With a small groan, he started to pull out some clothes he could slip in and out of easily.

Basil turned the doorknob and pulled the door open slowly. For once, today didn’t bring overcast skies and torrents of rain, and Aubrey stood at his doorstep with her pink hair flowing in the wind. “Morning,” she greeted in her usual gruff manner. “You have the worst case of bedhead right now.” She didn’t look that much better, in spite of her remark.

He ran his hands through his hair out of sheer reflex. “Uhm, yeah. I usually do. So what’s the occasion Aubrey?” He cupped his mouth as he barely contained a yawn.

“Well seeing as it’s Sunny’s last day here, Kel and I were thinking we’d go to our old spot in the park to hang out before he left. It would just be you two, Kel, Kim, and myself. Oh, and maybe Hero too, if he decides that he wants to come along. Doubt it though.”

“O-oh. Yeah, I’m up for that. Can we meet up in like an hour?”

“Totally,” Aubrey shrugged, thrusting her hands in the pockets of her skirt. “I’m just here to pass on the message. Kel’s idea.”

“N-no problem. We just need to get dressed and stuff. Meet you at the park then?”

“Mhm. See you in a bit. Oh, and bring your camera.” Aubrey was already turned to leave down the stairwell of the apartment building, soon disappearing around the corner with her scooter in tow. 

Basil closed the door and rubbed his eyes wearily, heading directly to the bathroom when he saw Sunny standing just outside his bedroom, half-dressed. “So uh, did you hear all that?”

“Yup. Park in an hour?”

“Yeah, so… we should probably get showered and dressed before heading out. I feel a little dirty.”

Sunny chuckled, knowing that he was partially the cause of this. “Sorry. I guess we were both too tired out after all of that.”

Basil giggled and closed the distance between Sunny, planting his hands on bare shoulders. “It’s okay. I… it was a really nice night.”

Sunny smiled, leaning into Basil to peck him on the lips. “I’m glad.”

Basil’s cheeks glowed red as he glanced back at the bathroom. “I think we could save time if we take a shower together? Then we can have a quick breakfast, I can start laundry, and we’d be out the door?”

Sunny beamed. How could he turn down that offer? “Sounds good to me.”

“Alright.” Basil hung up his bathrobe in the bathroom, dropping his bottoms before turning on the shower. “I expect you to be on your best behavior,” He teased.

A soft chuckle escaped Sunny’s mouth as he followed suit, joining Basil in the tub where they would wash up. Despite them both being naked, they fought off the urge to do anything else in there, albeit barely. That didn’t stop them from looking at each other up and down, of course. If only they had more time.

After the shower, Basil threw the bedding from his room into a basket for this evening’s laundry and started up breakfast, preparing oatmeal in a saucepan. Basil never could handle the traditional breakfast of eggs, toast and bacon. It would be too much for his stomach. Just as well anyway, he concluded that eating such things every morning would be plain unhealthy.

As they both got ready to meet up with their friends, Sunny would glance over to Basil who was tending to the flowers in each of the rooms. His aqua eyes would meander to the noirette in the room, a faint grin would cross his face, then he would focus again on the flowers. It seemed like Basil wanted to say something, but he never did. Sunny decided to not pry.

They were out the door after the plants were watered, and Basil’s camera hung on a strap around his neck. They walked side by side, and occasionally their fingers would brush up against one another. Sunny boldly took Basil’s hand into his as they neared the park. They could do this again now, after seven long years, the physical and emotional link between them stronger than ever.

It took some time to find the path to the hideout at the lake behind the park. Sunny could swear it wasn’t that long ago he was there, so how could he forget? Not far from the lake was a checker print blanket laying in the grass, with Aubrey and Kim relaxing on it.

“You made it,” Aubrey called out, her arms joined around Kim’s chest as the latter opened her eyes, giving a brief wave to the pair.

“We did. That path is still as hidden as ever.”

“Count your blessings,” Kim chimed in. “It won’t be long ‘til the town does something with the lake. Extend the park this way.”

“Please don’t say that babe, you’ll jinx it,” Aubrey groaned, lightly butting her head against the tree at her back.

“So, where’s Kel at?” Sunny took his spot on the blanket across from the two girls, Basil sitting right next to him with their hands still joined.

“Probably taking his sweet time showering and getting ready. Who knew he’d be such a diva.”

As if they summoned Kel themselves, he showed up a couple minutes later. Like most days, his manner of dress still didn’t match the weather, wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Aubrey rose from her spot behind Kim, walking up to the athlete with a glare on her face. She grabbed for Kel’s collar. “Took you long enough! I texted you, fool.”

“My phone died! I forgot to plug it in last night so it’s been on the charger since I got in the shower.”

Aubrey let out a disgruntled sigh and freed Kel’s collar, standing on her toes to kiss him. “Do better next time.”

Kel snickered, soon glancing to Sunny and Basil, noticing the two of them holding hands. “Hey! Looks like a lot happened last night.”

Basil blushed hard again, and couldn’t come up with a response as he made a poor attempt to hide his face. Thankfully, Sunny answered in his place. “We made up for lost time.”

“Had to happen eventually,” Kim added, eyes flickering between each of the boys. “Any longer and Basil would have married his garden or something.”

“Sh-should we, uhm…” Basil fought to conjure up the words, suddenly worried. “Tone it d-down a bit before Hero shows up?”

Aubrey scoffed. “Why? Who knows if he is even coming. Even if he does, you two shouldn’t have to separate just because he’s around. If he is going to have a problem with your guys’ relationship, he can go take a hike.”

Basil’s eyes blinked rapidly, pursing his lips. He supposed Aubrey was right, but he couldn’t help but be worried.

Kel came up behind Basil, squatting down to put a hand on Basil’s shoulder. “I told him if he was going to come with me, he had to keep the peace. He already laid into Sunny yesterday, I don’t really want a part two of all that.”

The blonde let out a sigh of relief. He was grateful to have such supportive friends. Friends he didn’t know would want anything to do with him again.

“The guy is clearly going through his own thing.” Aubrey shrugged, flipping open her phone to read the texts that were causing it to ring in her pocket. “He hasn’t really given himself time to process everything that happened. Hero’s gotta work through this on his own.”

Everyone at the picnic blanket sat and talked about things that happened since the day Sunny moved out of Faraway. Between Kim and Aubrey’s scooter gang to Kel’s varied attempts at finding a job, all the way up to Basil talking about the people at the community garden he helped out at, they were all equally invested in the only conversation they’d have like this for a while. 

For the most part, little has changed about all of them, though it was refreshing to see that Kim and Aubrey were no longer at odds with Basil.

They chatted for some twenty minutes before they both heard the rustle of bushes as Hero emerged from the path to the lake. He took a few steps to the group before stopping dead in his tracks. The first to come to a stand were Basil and Sunny, who had let go of each other for the time being. Kel stood up as well when Hero came a little further, staying just behind the couple as they walked up to the elder of their group.

Hero’s gaze was mostly on the couple in front of him. Things were silent for a long moment before he lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head, trying to conjure up the words. “Hello,” he managed to get out.

“H-hey,” Basil said nervously. He often had a problem keeping eye contact with people, and this time was no exception.

Sunny had an equivalent amount of difficulty coming up with anything to say. “Glad you came, Hero. Really.”

Of course, Hero was caught off guard with this. His mouth hung open for a moment before he let out a breath. “I owe you all an apology.” The group stayed silent, looking attentively to Hero as he continued. “Sunny, I haven’t exactly been fair to you ever since you returned to town. I’m sure I made you feel like you were walking on broken glass around me. You were a guest in my home, I should have treated you more like one.”

His eyes moved to Basil. “I projected a lot of my anger towards you on Sunny, and despite all that has happened, neither of you deserve that. I didn’t take the opportunity to clear my mind and confront you directly. Instead I avoided you and let my emotions get the best of me when they reached a boiling point.” He sighed, glancing at both of them. “In truth, I don’t know how I feel about all of this right now and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come to terms with things. I’ve been very hot-and-cold about it, as Sunny has seen. But I do know that you two have the right to move on with your lives, however that might be.”

Hero walked over to Kel next. “You had to put up with me the most, being that you are my little brother and all. I apologize if it seemed like you couldn’t be friends with them without upsetting me. I probably worried you a lot too all this time.”

Kel gave Hero a toothy grin, throwing his arms around his brother’s waist. “You sure got scary sometimes, but not as scary as Aubrey.” His remark earned him the middle finger from his girlfriend.

“Ah, right.” Hero let himself be absorbed into the hug before wandering over to the pink-haired girl of the group. “And Aubrey, I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch with you when I moved away for college. You must’ve felt like you were losing friends, and that’s one of the worst feelings to have. I would know.”

“Whatever old man.” Aubrey raised a brow as she looked up to him. “You know I’m kind of over my ‘abandonment issues’ phase?”

Hero chuckled dryly. “Still, I should have been a phone call away.” He looked among everyone present and, with a smile, held open his arms. “Now, what does everyone say to a group hug?”

There was a shared laugh between all of them as they joined Hero, wrapping their arms around each other for the first time in seven years. Kim, who has only been formally acquainted with all of them for a relatively short period of time, felt awkward about joining in, but latched onto Kel and Aubrey anyway, if tentatively.

Once they released each other, they finally sat down on the picnic blanket, roughly forming a circle. This was a picnic without sandwiches and snacks for them to eat, but they could enjoy each others’ company as they got caught up in the happenings of their lives. No longer afraid of how things would go at this gathering, Basil latched onto Sunny once more.

Then it was time for the camera to be brought out. Basil couldn’t find much of an opportunity to take photos of the group while they sat around and talked without them expecting to be on camera. But he did want to get a picture of everyone there. They all insisted that he be in the photo however, and Kim volunteered to take the picture.

The group huddled up with Hero on the far left, with Aubrey on the right. Kel stood right in the middle of them, his arms holding onto the two. Sunny and Basil took their place in front of the brothers, hands still linked together as Kim took position a few feet away.

**_Click!_ **

The photo sprung out of the exit slot, and Kim carefully pulled it out of the antiquated piece of technology that was passed down to Basil. It was set down on the blanket to develop and dry before it was handed off to Sunny.

“Why am I getting this?” Sunny tilted his head, looking between everyone.

“Because you still have the photo album, silly!” Basil beamed at Sunny, nudging him playfully.

“Yeah but… this should be all of ours?”

“Well you know,” Kel said, glancing upwards. “They have these things called scanners. You might have heard of them. They sometimes come with computer printers and stuff?”

“Ha ha.” Sunny groaned teasingly, soon letting his eyes fall to the photo as he held it between his thumb and index. Then, he found a safe enough spot in his jacket pocket to slide the photo into. Somewhere big enough to accommodate its size and to not fall out of.

“Maybe next time we can all do something fun and Basil can take more of us,” Kel said, nudging Basil.

“Heh, yeah. As long as you don’t see it coming.”

Eventually, the time came for Sunny to leave, so after retrieving his duffel bag back at the apartment, they all walked him to Faraway’s bus station on the other side of the plaza. Hero gave one parting hug to Sunny before leaving. Kel, Aubrey and Kim followed shortly after, leaving Basil to be the only one with Sunny.

They both leaned up against the wall of the bus shelter, savoring whatever time they have left together. Basil rested his head against Sunny’s shoulder, glancing periodically up to him. Basil didn’t want to let Sunny leave. Not just yet. And Sunny was reluctant to leave as well. Once the bus arrived at the station, they knew it was time.

“You’ll visit again soon, right Sunny?” Basil folded his hands together, staring up at the raven-haired boy in front of him.

“Hmmm,” Sunny glanced up to the roof of the bus shelter then back down to Basil, smirking. “I guess I could consider it.”

Basil pushed his shoulder playfully before pulling Sunny in, holding him tightly. “I’m… I’m really happy y-you came back, you know? For a long time, I thought you wouldn’t want to set foot here, but… I guess I worry too much, huh?”

The portly bus driver stepped off the vehicle, looking at everyone who was going to be boarding his particular bus. “Route 15 to Faraway Train Station is departing shortly.” He called out. “Better get on while you can.”

Sunny took one look at the bus and the passengers stepping on, turning back to Basil. He had to leave now, but he was certain this wasn’t the last time he would come to Faraway. Definitely not the last time he would see the boy he dearly cared for.

Basil squeezed tighter around Sunny, leaning upwards to kiss him. “I-I love you Sunny. Have a safe trip back home, okay?”

Sunny beamed, petting his flaxen hair and taking a lock into his fingers. “I love you too.” He pecked Basil on his lips one last time before they parted. He stepped on the bus, paid his fare and took a seat at the other end of the vehicle. He chose the seat next to the window, staring at the flower boy just outside, waving at him once more as the bus started to drive away.

All noise was drowned out when he plugged his headphones into both ears, playing a mellow song from a small MP3 player in his hands.

* * *

Sunny came back to his house that night. Knowing he was the only one there at the time, he was quick to have the lights on as he started to set down his things. His mother wouldn’t be home for another hour or so. He knew rationally that he had nothing to be afraid of, but the thought of being the only one in his house still sent shivers down his spine.

He prepared some leftovers from a night ago that his mom cooked. Steak coupled with mashed potatoes and gravy were heated up unevenly in their microwave. Their kitchen and dining area were practically conjoined in this house, unlike the one in Faraway. Indeed, the whole house was smaller, but with only two people living in it they didn’t need it to be that big anyways.

He finished up his food and headed to the computer in the living room, pulling out a photo album that sat on the shelf nearby. He used this opportunity to scan the photo with his mom’s printer. After a few tries fiddling with the position of the photo, he was able to send decent copies to everyone before placing the photo inside the album. One day, he would be able to write a caption for that entry in the album, but that was a project for another day.

That was when an email caught his eye.

* * *

_From: herosandwich85@omgmail.com_

_Subject: <no subject> _

_Hey Sunny. I know it wasn’t long ago since we dropped you off at the bus stop but there were a lot of things I didn’t say while we hung out at the park. Frankly, I just didn’t want to bring down the mood when we were all having a good time._

_I meant everything I said in my apology to you and Basil. It’s an understatement that it’s been hard to come to terms with Mari’s death and the stuff surrounding that. I avoided you both for about a year before I finally reached out to you. My thought process then was that I had missed how we all were when we all still hung out and played, and I wanted so much to get back to that. Still, I didn’t really know if I wanted to forgive you. I certainly didn’t want to forgive Basil. The person I am now knows how unfair that is. I suppose I didn’t want to hold you as accountable as him because you lost a sister. A sister you dearly loved. A girl I was head over heels for._

_But as you said, I’m not the only one who loved her. We all held her close to our hearts. Her death shattered us as a group from the inside out. Healing hasn’t been easy, and I think we still have a long way to go. But perhaps that is me projecting again. Maybe I’m the one who has a long way to go._

_Because of that, I don’t know if I am ready to forgive either of you to be completely honest. But I don’t want to hang that over your head for the rest of your life. And despite all of that, I really do think you deserve to be happy. I think Basil deserves to be happy. You are both still people I care a lot for. I know I've been awful at showing it._

_It’s kind of funny that there are a lot of things that haven't really changed about all of us. Even with as far as we’ve come, we are still at heart the same people. Perhaps with different outlooks. Actually, you have changed the most, I think. It’s a given after everything that you’ve gone through. Besides that, you talk a lot more than you used to. You were always such a quiet kid. You spoke with as few words as possible. I don’t know what happened for that to change, but you are definitely more communicative._

_Anyway, before I go off on any tangents I think I’m just going to leave things here. I think I’m going to need a bit more time to get a grip on my feelings. I think this is a good time for me to talk with someone. I know it might be hard to believe but I neglected therapy. Mostly because I hyper-focused on my studies and college and all that, hoping that would provide a good distraction and make me forget certain things. But we all see how that turned out, right?_

_If therapy has helped you and Basil, maybe it can help me as well._

_So I’m going to need some space for a while, but I don’t want this to be the last time we talk. I’m willing to work on forgiving you and Basil moving forward. I really am. So until then, take care of yourself, okay? Don’t stay up too late every night and try to eat as healthy as possible. I mean it. Stuff like that goes a long way._

* * *

Sunny closed the browser window as soon as he could stop reading over the last lines of Hero’s email. Despite the long message, there wasn’t much to digest. Still, he was thankful that he said that much in an email. Even though Hero wasn’t letting him off the hook, he was content to know that he kept Sunny in his best regards. 

He had some good friends at his side, and he wanted to keep cherishing that. Because if one day all of his friends can forgive him, maybe he isn’t the horrible person his mind convinces him that he is. Perhaps it really was time to be kinder to himself.

Sunny shut down the computer and stood up, heading to his room to dress down to something comfortable before crawling into bed. Once there, he would soon begin to fall into a peaceful sleep, with the image of him and his friends still fresh in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is. The final chapter of this fic.
> 
> Once again, thank you all for coming with me on this journey.
> 
> This won't be the last thing I write for Omori. There are still some projects I want to start. Maybe some Kel/Aubrey/Kim content which I pretty much opened up the possibility of from the start. Maybe we can have a Hero-focused story as he returns to college? Oh, and because Sunny X Basil is one of my top favorite ships (yes I have others!), I definitely want to write more for them. Because there is so much potential spice that could be brought to the table.
> 
> I hope to see you all then!
> 
> (Chapter title is taken from Dreams by The Cranberries)


End file.
